Strange Effect
by Mamamalia
Summary: Max Caulfield, the girl who can manipulate the flow of time, accidentally uses her superpower and ends up far in the future. Unable to go back, she is forced to live in a world, where alien races and FTL are reality. The story begins roughly 10 years before ME1.
1. Chapter 1

"What the fuck?!"

Max was used to weird things happen to her, but she had absolutely no idea what had happened. One moment she was at the Arcadia Bay Cemetery looking at the casket, then her powers did some shit and suddenly everything changed. It was still the same cemetery, but it looked _ancient_ and overgrown. Had she gone back in time again? How the fuck could that happen? She wasn't supposed to use this power again.

 _Ok, Max, calm down and think,_ she thought.

She knew that her power was somehow connected to stress. The first time she had used it, she had seen Chloe die. Then she managed to freeze time seeing Kate jumping off the roof. Finally, she felt depressed and went back in time through a photo. Chloe's funeral was the worst thing in her life and she shouldn't have been surprised that her fucking power acted on its own again. Well, not really on its own. She did want to be far away from the cemetery, to pretend that nothing had happened.

 _Wait…_ The headstone was still here and there was Chloe's name on it. _What the fuck?! Did I go to the future? No way!_

"Don't panic, Max," she muttered. "You're time traveler, you can get back."

Max focused on her power and attempted to rewind time as far as she could before falling to her knees, feeling something warm flowing down from her nose. Of course, this wouldn't work! She couldn't rewind more than a few minutes and judging by the look of the cemetery it had been years since the funeral. How would she get back? The only way to time travel to the far past she knew was using a photo, but even that was temporary. What year was it anyway?

Feeling unsure about what to do, Max sighed and walked towards the entrance. The cemetery looked neglected, as if it had been dozens of years since anyone had visited it. There were rusty remains of the gate and no sight of a road. Not even a sign of the town or civilization. Just a forest.

 _Everything is so messed up_ , she thought, looking around. _Did I do this? What happened?_

She continued to walk through the forest for another ten minutes before she heard some noise and looked up. Max froze and blinked. There was a massive alien looking ship-thing flying to the north. What was that thing?! Was it an alien spacecraft? Did she end up in a future where humanity fought some aliens? Was she the last human on Earth? That sounded so stupid!

Another five minutes later she stumbled upon a well-maintained hiking trail. That somehow reassured her. If there was a war against aliens nobody would care for hiking trails. Soon she found a wooden signpost, pointing to various places, the lighthouse among them. It took her twenty minutes to get there. The lighthouse wasn't in ruins, although everything looked different. Arcadia Bay wasn't there, there was however a large holo-fucking-graphic panorama that created an illusion of the existing town. An inscription told her that Arcadia Bay had been abandoned in the 2082 and subsequently demolished.

"Holly shit," whispered Max. "It'd been more than seventy years."

She wasn't sure how to feel about it. What if it would ruin the time? What if she wouldn't find a way to get back? Now that she thought about it, it was logical that traveling to the future would be easier. It wasn't something that would defy the laws of physics. Not that she was eager to try it again. The last thing she wanted to do was to skip another seventy years or more. Max shuddered at the thought.

 _What about my parents? Oh, god,_ she thought, _Everyone was probably dead!_

Max stared through the hologram at the bay feeling completely lost. Why did she have this stupid power? It didn't help at all, couldn't even save Chloe! It was useless! And now she was stranded somewhere in the future with everyone she knew dead.

"Fuck you!" she shouted.

"That's one way to relieve stress."

Max let out a scream and turned around in fright. There was a middle-aged pair standing in front of her, clearly amused by her outburst. They were hikers and looked nothing like survivors of an alien invasion. That flying ship-thing must have been what they were using instead of planes nowadays. She felt a little relieved to see humans and not some alien invaders.

"Sorry, I didn't notice you," she said.

"Are you all right?" the man asked.

The dark-skinned man possessed a deep powerful voice, full of bass, that made her feel like a small child in front of an old and wise king that would decide her fate. He was very tall and broad in his shoulders, towering over her like a giant. The man reminded her of David Madsen for some reason, although a better version of him in every possible way. Max couldn't help but feel attracted to him. Her hand moved to her forehead on its own while she was trying to think of an answer.

"Yeah… I mean… except that I'm not even sure where I am."

"Are you lost?" the woman asked with concern. "Do you need help?"

The woman in comparison to the man looked plain normal, although her features were somewhat similar to him. The most striking likeness was in their eye shapes. Were they siblings? Max shook her head. She needed help. She was in the middle of nowhere, had absolutely no idea where to go and what to do. All her belongings were a dress, shoes, bracelet and a necklace. But how would she explain her lack of knowledge? Her powers were too dangerous to use recklessly. She didn't want to cause another storm... if she hadn't caused one already... A memory loss perhaps?

"I… yeah," she said. "I sort of… can't remember, how I got here or even what the current date is."

"There is a shuttle station nearby, we could walk you there, if you want," the woman said.

 _A shuttle station? Like a space shuttle or a flying car? I'll totally get a flying DeLorean._

"You… I mean, I don't want to be a bother."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "We don't have any pressing matters. I'm Kelly and the big guy next to me is my brother David."

"I'm Max," she said. "Maxine Caulfield."

"As in Maxine?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, but I prefer Max," she said, following the pair down the trail.

"It's a good sign that you remember your name."

"I guess… Could you tell me what date it is?"

"It's the seventh of July."

"And the year?"

"2173."

Her eyes widened. _Holly shit!_

"Do you remember where're you from?" David asked.

She almost said Arcadia Bay but stopped herself in time. _Max, don't be stupid,_ she told herself. _The town had been abandoned ninety years ago._

"I'm not sure," she said instead.

"Any friends or relatives you can recall or even just names?"

"I… I don't think so."

"Do you have an omni-tool?"

"A what?"

"An omni-tool. A wearable or handheld device used for variety of tasks, like communication, banking and extranet surfing."

"Like a phone?" Max asked.

David chuckled as if I'd said something funny.

"I apologize," he said. "Most people don't know what a phone is. I think it was my two-times-great-grandfather who had used one. Maybe. But yes, it's similar. Let me see your bracelet and necklace... No, just trinkets."

"What does it look like?"

"They're sold in various forms. Some people use a handheld version like this one," he said, takin a small grey device out of his pocket. "Kelly uses a bracelet. It usually stays in your pocket, and you use it like this."

Suddenly an orange hologram appeared around his left hand, while he used his right hand to manipulate it. _This thing is mega cool._

"You need haptic gloves or cybernetics to use it efficiently, otherwise it lacks any feedback," he continued while demonstrating the tool's functions. "It's strange that you don't remember it. Kids spend most of their time on omni-tools."

"I guess I must have bumped my head pretty hard."

"We'll take you to the hospital. It's going to be okay."

"Thanks."

They walked in silence for a few minutes. The world had changed and she wasn't sure if she would be able to adapt. _If only Chloe were here with me..._ Why had she listened to her? Why had she chosen to save the town instead of Chloe? It wasn't there anyway. Perhaps there had been a way to prevent the storm without sacrificing Chloe. What if she could have saved her without causing the storm? What if the storm had been a result of her reckless power usage? A self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Max sighed, kicking herself for stupidity. _If only I could go back again._

As they neared the shuttle station she looked around. It was just a paved area with a few dozen parked shuttles of various forms and sizes. And they were flying cars just like she had guessed. There were a few fast food outlets on the edge of the station and a sport store. She had tons of questions, but decided to stay silent, trying to not ask too many stupid questions.

David led them to one of the shuttles and opened a door.

"Get in," he said.

Max sat down on the back seat behind David and looked out of the window as the shuttle launched itself to the sky. It turned out that the air was really busy, reminding her of an air highway, just like in sci-fi movies. Then she saw a futuristic city full of skyscrapers and large vessels flying over it. _Wowzers!_ The metropolis in front was so massive that she couldn't even see the end of it, but she recognized the landscape easily. It was Seattle, although the city itself looked nothing like the one from the past.

"It seems you recognize Vancouver, don't you?" Kelly asked.

"What?" she asked then quickly continued, "I mean it looks familiar, but… is this really Vancouver?"

"Yes."

 _What the fuck?_ She knew that it was Seattle. Had it become a part of Canada and somehow got absorbed into Vancouver? How the fuck did the U.S. lose a city to Canada? Was there a war? Why? Did the U.S. lose the war or did the countries simply merge into a single entity for some reason?

They landed in front of the Vancouver General Hospital and got out of the shuttle. As she followed David and Kelly, Max looked around and felt like an ant in this new massive megacity. It looked nothing like the old Seattle or Vancouver, which she had visited with her parents once. This Vancouver looked as though it had population of a few hundred million. She couldn't explain why there would be countless skyscrapers otherwise.

"Wait here, I'll explain your situation," David said.

She nodded and sat down in the waiting hall with Kelly. Max wasn't sure what she would have done if she hadn't met them. What was the chance to meet these nice people who decided to help a perfect stranger in the middle of nowhere? She fidgeted thinking of the upcoming conversation with a doctor. Would they be able to tell that she was lying and didn't have a memory loss?

"It's going to be okay, Max," Kelly said. "Don't worry."

"I'm just unsure what will happen next."

"They'll get a DNA sample to find out who you are."

 _Good luck with that,_ she thought.

Then she saw a thing that shocked her. An alien. It resembled a human female but had blue skin and some tentacle-thingies instead of hair. Very creepy, but still somewhat attractive. Max was so engrossed in watching the alien that she almost missed the question Kelly asked.

"I take you don't remember seeing an asari, do you?" Kelly asked.

"This alien is an asari?"

Kelly nodded. "It's been sixteen years since the First Contact War, but I still can hardly believe that there are other sapient species."

"The First Contact War?"

"There was a misunderstanding that led to a limited conflict with the turians," she said and activated her omni-tool, showing her a picture of a turian. "No memories about them?"

Max shook her head. "No. Could you show me other aliens too?"

"Sure!"

By the time David came back, Max learned a lot about the galaxy. Humanity had colonized numerous planets outside of the solar system and had spread very far. Some colonies were secure while others were under constant threat of attacks and raids both aliens and human criminals. The same could be told about aliens. Some were friendly, but other were deadly.

"Here," David said, giving her a bracelet. "I got you a simple omni-tool."

"Oh… You didn't have to," she said blushing. "I mean…"

"It's not a problem," he interrupted her. "You can pay me back once you have money. Here, put it on."

It was a small black bracelet made from something that felt like ceramic.

"How do I activate it?" she asked as she put it on.

"Press and hold the button on the bottom."

As she did it, Max felt the bracelet adjusted itself to the size of her wrist, and after a second an orange hologram appeared around her hand. Then she followed the instructions to calibrate the activation and set up her as the owner. The omni-tool wasn't hard to use. Unusual and different, but very intuitive.

"I think I got it," Max said and immediately received a message from David.

"Add me to your contact list."

"Okay," she said, trying to do as he asked. "David Anderson… Done."

"Contact me if you need help."

"I… I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's not every day I find people who can't remember an omni-tool. Kelly and I are going to stay for the next two weeks on Earth, so don't be afraid to send me a message if you need anything."

"Thank you."

He nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

The doctor introduced himself as Dr. Jurgen Idris and led her to an unoccupied room. He looked young, not much older than her. There were traces of some middle-eastern ancestry in his features. Dr. Idris told her that David Anderson paid for the whole thing and she didn't have to worry about insurance. She felt deeply indebted to the man. _I'll definitely pay him back somehow,_ she thought.

"Well, Ms. Caulfield, take a seat," Dr. Idris said, pointing at a bed with lots of weird devices. "Mr. Anderson explained your situation. You don't remember anything but your name, right?"

"Yeah," Max said as she sat down.

"That's odd, but first things first: your DNA sample and a full body scan," he said and did something with a small tablet-like device and handed it over. "I need you to read and okay a few things. You don't have to agree to anything, but the first two points are essential if we want to find out your identity and the cause of amnesia."

Max took the pad and read the long agreement, taking her time to read it carefully. Just like he had said, Max only agreed to provide a DNA sample for an identity and health check. Afterwards the sample would be destroyed. Unless she was a wanted criminal.

"Excellent," he said. "Please lie down, I'll perform the scan."

A soon as she lay down, the doctor did something with one of the devices that emitted something akin a laser line that scanned her whole body. It was still mindboggling that she was so far in the future that she was almost completely clueless about the technology. She wondered if someone taken from medieval would feel the same in 2013.

"Hm… No records in the database. Neither DNA nor biometrics have any matches," he said finally. "No close relatives either."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not, there are thousands of children born on space ships and some distant colonies. People don't bother sending any information back to Earth anymore. You may be one of them. You'll have to visit the Alien Registration Office within a week."

"Okay," Max said with relief.

"Let's move to the next point. Your head is perfectly fine, so either there's a something the scanner can't detect, or you lied."

Max blanched. "I'm…"

"I'm not here to judge you, Ms. Caulfield," he said. "You probably had your reasons, but I don't appreciate you wasting my time."

 _Well, good job, Max. You could have handled it better._

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Whatever. There are two problems I have to address. You aren't vaccinated and didn't receive gene correction therapy. The former is required by law. The latter is optional, but I strongly advise you to agree. You have genetic predisposition to a number of dangerous diseases. Some of them are terminal."

"What does it imply?"

"Two injections and an agreement to sign."

Max shrugged and nodded. The second agreement wasn't as long as the first one and it didn't take as much time to read it thoroughly. When she placed her digital signature, Dr. Idris made two injections and let her go. The problem was she had no idea what to do. Alone in the megacity without money or a place to stay, without any meaningful education or a job. She could probably send a message to David, but he had already done more for her than she could hope. It wouldn't be right to use his kindness like this. Deep in thoughts Max left the hospital and sat on a bench in a park nearby.

 _I wonder what Chloe would think about this city,_ she thought. _No doubt she would find some hilarious and stupid shit to do and end up in a big trouble. Aliens, flying cars, space stations and interstellar travel. The United North American States in place of the U.S., Canada and Mexico with the capital in Vancouver. So much changed... Is there a place for me in this new world? There must be an advice for people in a similar situation on the internet._

Max activated her omni-tool and tried to find something useful.

"How can I earn money without education," she read quietly a title on one of the websites and then glanced over the answers. "Holo-whoring… Show your tits and I'll pay… Ha-ha, typical. Idiots. Time passes, but nothing changes."

She sighed opened a different website and then another one. After an hour of searching Max came to conclusion that there weren't many jobs available for people with no education Basically, the trolls were right, becoming a virtual whore was the only safe option. Absolutely not her cup of tea. She wouldn't join a gang either. That left her with two realistic options: enlisting with the military or joining a colonization project in the Terminus Systems. The latter implied traveling to a lawless part of the galaxy with a chance of being killed or enslaved. The former meant training, education and money. She needed a way to get some money as fast as she could, because she already was hungry and in about ten hours she would need a bed. To say the least, Max was desperate.

The choice was clear. She didn't have much choice, but she felt weird to join military. Max had never considered a military career and wasn't sure if she was a soldier material at all. She imagined that someone like David Anderson would be a good soldier. He looked like one. Would she be able to kill? Although there wasn't any major active conflict in the galaxy, it didn't mean the galaxy was all rainbow and ponies. It would be expected of her to kill people. And possibly dying. Just because she wouldn't be able to fill any non-combatant role due to her lack of education. Not that she was a stranger to death. In the last few days that felt like years she had pulled the trigger on Frank, fully expecting the gun to fire, had seen him die four time when Chloe had shot him. She had seen Chloe and David dying countless times and David shooting Jefferson twice. She had seen death and destruction wrought by the storm.

Looking up the closest Alliance recruiting station didn't take much time but getting there without money wasn't easy. The city looked pristine and safe, but Max knew better. She read a lot about less shiny parts of this megacity and its gangs. The gap between poor and rich was ridiculously huge. Some people owned entire planets, while less unfortunate people lived in the poor depressive slums. The path from the hospital to the recruiting station was safe, but would require time.

* * *

The recruiting station was located in a large building three hours walking distance from the hospital. By the time she got there, the opening hours were almost over, so she rushed to the door like a charging bull. Sadly, her charge was interrupted by a man, who moved to block her way. Tired from running she bumped right into him and fell down to the ground.

"Slow down, kid," he said. "Who the hell are you running from?"

Max looked up at the man who hadn't let her pass and forced herself to stand up. She'd rather stay lying on the nice cold ground after three hours of walking and running. The man wore an awesome armor and had a rifle in his hands. Thankfully, he wasn't about to shoot her. A guard?

"Sorry, I was afraid to be late," she said trying to calm her breathing.

"Late for what?"

"To join the Alliance."

That sent the man into fits of laughter. "It's never late, you dork. And here I thought you had an angry krogan after you."

Max had seen pictures of krogans. They were large reptilian creatures that looked as if they were about to bite your head off. A short description she had read hadn't said anything nice about them either.

"In that case I would've run twice as fast," Max said.

"I seriously doubt that. You look dead on your feet."

"I'm fine."

"If you say so," he said. "Let me scan you."

The man did something with his omni-tool pointed at her and nodded.

"You may enter," he said, "but no running."

"Okay."

The building was quite a busy place. It wasn't just a recruiting station. It was filled with lots of uniformed people and nobody was paying any attention to her. Max spent a few minutes looking for the right person to talk and as it turned out she wasn't the only one willing to enlist. A recruiting officer was talking to a young man and there were two more waiting their turn. All of them were higher and a lot more athletic than her, which made her feel self-conscious about her body.

"Good evening," the officer said when it was her turn. "What can I do for you?"

"Good evening," she said. "I'm here to join up."

"Are you?" he asked, looking skeptically at her. "What branch do you want to join?"

"Alliance Navy," she answered.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll be frank, you look scrawny. What makes you think that you have what it takes?"

"Well… it's either the military service or a shuttle to some small colony in the Terminus Systems."

"The Terminus Systems aren't as bad as they're usually painted."

"Still not my cup of tea."

"Okay, do you have an I.D.?"

On the way to the recruiting station she had crafted a different story and hoped it would work. She had read a lot on the extranet to make it more believable than the memory loss. As it had turned out it wasn't easy to fake amnesia and Max wasn't even sure if Mr. Anderson had really believed her, which made her wonder why he had helped her at all.

"No, I was… I mean, my parents dumped me on Earth with nothing but the dress," Max explained. "I can send you the results of my visit to the hospital."

"We'll have to check it, but it looks bad," he said as he read the results she had received in the hospital. "Have you means to contact your parents?"

"No idea where they are and to be honest, I barely know them. I spent most of my time alone with a VI."

"That's unfortunate. All right, are you sure you want to enlist? I advise you to consider joining colonization efforts. It's safer and easier for you."

"I'm sure," Max answered firmly.

"Well, can't say I didn't try. You have to go through a physical examination on the twelfth floor, room 12.044. Good luck."

"Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

It hadn't been easy to enlist with the Alliance. She had been thoroughly questioned concerning her circumstances, psychologically and physically evaluated for military service and finally given a bunch of advanced gene therapy shots, which would come in effect in coming years, making her faster, stronger and smarter. Or something like that. A day later she received a temporary I.D. and was sent to Brazil. That was the moment she started having doubts. Why on earth Brazil?! Too late, she couldn't rewind that much. She had taken a selfie, of course, but she doubted she would ever use it to change her decision.

Max had never been to Brazil and the first difference she noticed was the climate. It was very warm in Macapa compared to Arcadia Bay. She had always thought of Brazil as a typical third world country. Poor and unsafe. That wasn't the case in twenty second century. Brazil was a developed country, not quite on the same level as the three superpowers, but still a good place to live. Not without problems, but so was the UNAS.

She had arrived two and a half weeks too early for the basic training program, but the Alliance had provided her with a room. They were interested in recruits. Serving in the Alliance was hard and dangerous and there always was someone willing to shoot you. A demanding job with small reward. Humanity was new to the galaxy and people were eager to explore and experience freedom of living outside of the System Alliance. Max could relate, but she was still sure that the Alliance was the better option. Nevertheless, the chosen path frightened her, and she was unsure about her ability to fight. Her superpower was a major boon, but it came at price. She had to learn more about it. No way she would cause a cataclysm in the middle of a megacity with population of thirty million.

 _With great power comes great bullshit… Wish I had a scientific omni-tool with an advanced sensor analysis pack and a fabrication module._

Although the Systems Alliance provided her with a bed, clothes and let her eat at the mess hall, Max still lacked money, which meant the only thing she could do was playing with her omni-tool and trying to socialize at the mess hall. The latter was difficult, so she was taking photos, thinking about the future and learning. And exercising. She didn't want to fail because of her abysmal physical fitness. These two and a half weeks really helped to get in shape. She went from ten push-ups and thirty sit-ups up to thirty-five push-ups and seventy-five sit-ups. The fitness requirements were lower, and she hoped to pass them. If nothing went wrong.

Max intended to stay with the Alliance long enough to pass an equivalent of a GED test and to get a degree. Then she planned to quit. In a very improbable case she'd continue, a degree would come handy too.

The education system had changed a lot since 2013. Anyone could take free or paid remote courses. Exams could be taken from any certified VI-supervised terminal. A VI as far as Max could understand was a limited version of an AI. She could cheat with her power, but she still was very wary of it.

The story she had crafted had resulted in an investigation. They didn't seem to be suspicious of her, mostly because she really was ignorant about the world. The police had been trying to find her nonexistent parents and apparently, they had found something, otherwise she wouldn't have been called by the police. It was, mildly said, worrying.

"Ms. Caulfield?" the police officer asked as she answered the call on the omni-tool. "Good day."

"Yes, good day."

"I'm Detective Erik Costa and I was assigned to your case. It's good to finally talk to you. How are you adjusting to your new life?"

"It's fine, I think," she answered.

"Glad to hear it. I heard the Macapa boot camp is brutal. I wish you good luck."

"Thank you."

"Okay, I've got some good news and some bad news. I'll start with the good news. There are circumstantial evidences that prove your statements, and we found nothing that would prevent you joining the Alliance Navy. You're allowed to begin your training. I've already sent the report. You'll get an I.D. soon."

"Does that mean I'll be a UNAS citizen?"

"I can only guess that at this point you won't be granted any citizenship. You'll get an I.D. issued by the Systems Alliance, which should be enough."

Max nodded. It really was enough. Immigration laws were nowhere as strict as they had been hundred sixty years ago.

"Now the bad news: I've made inquiries to private DNA testing companies and found a few close DNA matches. One of them is Olivia Winters, born in 1998. Daughter of Isabella Winters who had two brothers: Ryan and Jack Caulfield. The other is Ethan Jones, born in 2002, son of Chloe Jones. Chloe had a sister Vanessa, who was married to Ryan Caulfield. These ancient ancestry tests made by Olivia and Ethan more than a century ago identify you as Maxine Caulfield, born in 1995 to Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield. Here's the photo."

As the detective showed her the photo, Max's face turned white of fear that she had been unmasked as a time traveler. She could only imagine what the government would do with her, if they'd leared of her abilities. She hadn't even considered that it would be possible to find out who she was, but, apparently, some close relative doing a private ancestry test was enough.

"I'm…" she mumbled, not sure what to say.

"That's impossible, of course," he said with a reassuring smile. "You don't look like two hundred years old fossil, which along with your statements about your previous living conditions paint a clear picture. I must ask first: you said that you weren't abused in any way. Is that right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Good, that's good. At least we can scratch that off the list of possible motives. In most cases they use DNA of celebrities, but some creeps fixate on random-"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah, sorry. Highly likely you're a result of cloning experiments, I'm afraid."

"I'm what?" Max asked.

 _Are you cereal? Cloning? The best conclusion ever! Won't look a gift horse in the mouth._

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the only sensible explanation," he said. "It's a common crime, actually. The required equipment is available to public, and human cloning is legal per se… if certain requirements are met and the donor of DNA material agrees. In your case it's not a crime either, because the donor was declared missing more than eight-five years ago. However, a clone has the same right as any human, so it's still a case of child neglect. You had right to get a formal education, right to liberty, right to freedom of movement... You were denied the basic rights."

"Are there other theories?"

"None that would make sense."

"So… I'm a clone?"

"Yes, but you shouldn't worry, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your body. You weren't engineered to grow faster or die earlier. You're no different than me or anyone else and you have the same rights."

"What about the other girl? Maxine, I mean."

"She went missing in 2013 and was never found dead or alive."

"Then how did they get her DNA sample? And why would they clone this Maxine?"

"Who knows? Some people are just sick and do horrible things. You can count yourself lucky. Just look up the case of Howard and Alice Ziegler, who created human-animal hybrids and sold them to the highest bidders in the Terminus Systems."

"That's totally fu- messed up," Max said.

 _What the actual fuck?!_ she thought.

"Excuse me," he said with a sigh. "It was insensitive towards you."

"It's okay. I _am_ lucky. I didn't end up having a tail… Or something like that."

"You're optimistic. That's good."

"I try."

"Keep it up. Do you have any questions?"

"Not right now."

"I'll keep you posted on the progress of your case."

As soon as she ended the call Max decided to look up the case of the two bio-engineers. Turned out they had been ardent foes of the Sudham-Wolcott Genetic Heritage Act that had been passed twelve years ago to bring laws in accordance with the Treaty between the System Alliance and the Citadel. Among other things the act outlawed genetic modifications with the goal of adding new abilities. The Zieglers opposed the act but were ignored. Nothing was heard of them until 2171 when they were arrested on Earth for illegal genetic modifications. They had been selling custom-designed human-animals hybrids: humans with animal features and humanized animals. Most of them were still out there. Somewhere. The case spawned many discussions among geek circles with a dumb idea of buying a catgirl.

 _Fucking sick bastards,_ she thought.

Max sighed and looked out of the window. Macapa was a city on Amazon river, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. It was small by today's standards. Just over two million people. Earth was a heavily urbanized planet and most small cities like Arcadia Bay had disappeared. The nature flourished. She took a photo on her omni tool, wishing she had a proper camera. An antiquated Polaroid would cost a fortune, but she could use public blueprints… if her omni-tool had a fabrication module.

The last day of freedom. Max pondered about it for a moment and decided to compose a message.

 _To: David Anderson._

 _Subject: Thanks again._

 _David,_

 _just wanted to tell you and Kelly that I'm very grateful for your help. I don't know what would have happened if not for you. Not sure if the hospital informed you that I lied about my memories, since you paid for it, but anyway, I'm sorry. I couldn't explain what happened, because I had no idea myself. I was confused and lost. I told everything I knew to an Alliance officer and the police launched an investigation. They think I'm a victim of some bizarre cloning experiments._

 _I enlisted with the Alliance military. I'm going to be a marine. Didn't have much choice, but I think it's a good opportunity. Much better than going to some newly colonized Terminus world. I hope it was the right decision. The Basic begins tomorrow. I'm excited (not). Not sure what to expect and afraid to fail._

 _Thanks again and sorry._

 _Sincerely_ _,_

 _Max_

She read the message one more time but hesitated to send it. _It's easy, Max,_ she told herself. _Don't do the same shit you did to Chloe. Just send it._ Done. Good.

A large Alliance vessel descended from the skies over the Amazon and hovered over the river. Max used her omni-tool to get a closer look and as she was studying it, a shuttle detached itself from the spaceship and disappeared in the forest on the other side of the river. Max was still unused to the idea of interstellar travel. Seeing a large spaceship simply hovering in the air was quite an astonishing sight and there were much larger vessels.

Two beeps from her omni-tool signaled a new message. It was from David. Huh… that was fast.

 _From: David Anderson_

 _Subject: Re: Thanks again._

 _Max,_

 _we didn't help you because you claimed to have no memories. We helped because you looked like someone who needed help. I know what it's like to have memories that are hard to talk about. I don't blame you. You should have seen yourself: lost look on the face, white as sheet, eyes that saw something no kid should ever have to see. I hope the police gets to the bottom of the matter._

 _Good decision to join the Navy, but don't expect it to be easy. I wish you good luck, but remember: it's not luck, but dedication, motivation and courage that makes a good marine. We'll meet again, Private Caulfield._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lieutenant Commander David Anderson_

Max felt like shit, because despite being sorry, she lied again. She wasn't a clone, but it was the only explanation that wouldn't get her into some lab to study her ability.

 _Shit!_ she thought. _Lieutenant Commander David Anderson?! He's with the Alliance Navy! Good thing I sent the message..._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: this time a short one, but I didn't want to spend much time on the boot camp.**

"Who left the rifle in the head?!"

The moment she heard the voice of the Drill Instructor Max knew she was deep in shit, because it was her rifle in the head. She hadn't done a lot of mistakes, but they were unavoidable under heavy pressure. Everyone had been on the bad side of a DI at least once. In most cases more than once. No-one could do everything right… But leaving a weapon in the bathroom was probably the worst thing she could have done. The day went from bad to worse.

"Sir, I did sir!" Max shouted.

The next moment he was in front of her, holding her rifle.

"Is the head a proper place for a weapon?!"

"Sir, no sir!"

"Then elucidate why the fuck do you take your weapon to the head?!"

There was no point telling him that she had been too tired to think about the rifle after a long hike with a heavy pack.

"Sir, I don't know sir!"

"Did you leave your brain there too?!"

"Sir, no sir!"

"Take the rifle and get your scrawny ass running around the building. Now!"

"Aye sir!" she replied and ran.

"Run faster you maggot! Faster I said!"

 _Could be worse. I guess, he's in a good mood._

She had known that it would be difficult, but she had still underestimated how demanding the boot camp was. Screaming had begun the moment she had stepped out of the shuttle and keeping up with other recruits had been almost impossible. All of them were at least four inches higher and had a lot more athletic build than her. Her only advantage was her weight, which was twice as small in some cases. Lifting hundred ten pounds was easier than two hundred thirty pounds. However, when it came to lifting weights, hiking with a heavy pack or sparring against her fellow recruits, her weight was a disadvantage too.

While she was doing the tactical running around the building, the rest of the platoon were doing tactical push-ups and most likely cursing her silently.

 _Hand-to-hand combat training's going to be fun today. I'm so not looking forward to it._

* * *

 _Diary. Entry 1._

 _August 30, 2173_

 _My first entry. It's crazy here. They give us ten minutes to write messages to our family and friends, but I didn't have any strength left to write anything. By the end of the day I'm just dead to the world. It's the sixth week and I think I'm beginning to like it. I know it sounds strange, but so is my life. I didn't like DI screaming in my face and it was hard to not break under pressure. Like really hard. But I adapted. The only shit I hate is my weakness and a few assholes among the recruits. Like Taylor Reyes who reminds me of a typical school bully._

 _I understand David more now. He's like a DI. Most of them care for us in their own way (there is one who's just an ass), but it's easy to forget about it, when they start screaming like they want to murder you the moment you do something wrong. It's a pity that Chloe didn't give him a chance._

 _Well, time is up._

* * *

"Your task is to follow navpoints… Baumann, did I say to switch off your HUD?"

"Sir, no sir! There ain't no navpoints, assumed it was a glitch, sir!"

"Did I allow you to assume anything?"

"Sir, no sir!"

"Then do not assume a fucking thing!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Shut the fuck up and switch it back on! Now!" Drill Instructor Ellison screamed through the radio inside their helmets. Then he continued, "You goal is to follow navpoints. As soon as the door opens, you'll receive the first one. Move there asap and you'll get the second one. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the whole squad replied as one.

They were wearing body armors equipped with kinetic shield generators, but she still was afraid to leave the safety of the shuttle. It was hard to believe that she wasn't on Earth. The way to Titan had been short and eventless. She hadn't seen or felt anything. An hour ago she had been in Brazil and now she was on the Saturn's moon. _Fucking crazy._

The door opened.

"Move out of the shuttle you pusillanimous slugs!" her Drill Instructor screamed. "Faster! Move faster!"

The atmosphere was so dense that she couldn't tell which way the sun was. She stood rooted at the shuttle's door, looking at the alien sky and couldn't believe her own eyes. She was on Titan. She was on TITAN! She was…

"I said move!" he screamed and kicked a recruit next to her in the ass. "You think you can goldbrick here Pierce?! Stand up and get your ass moving!"

Max wasn't about to get kicked like Pierce, so she rushed forward, getting slowly used to Titan's much lower gravity. Their armors were equipped with mass effect field generators, which although could compensate lower gravity, were only working at the quarter of their full capabilities and so walking on Titan was akin to walking on the bottom of a lake. Sluggishly and clumsily. Max stumbled and fell.

"Caulfield! Did I tell you to take a break?! Get your ass back up now!"

* * *

Max hated hand-to-hand combat training. Although she had gained some weight and muscle over the weeks, there was only so much room for a change with her height. She was the platoon's weakest. The hand-to-hand combat instructor had told her that she had to use her height to an advantage, but there had been some skepticism in his voice. Max knew that he simply wanted to encourage her to do better. But she was lighter, weaker and had a short reach. The only way to defeat her opponents was to be much better than them… But there were no slouches in her platoon.

Max sidestepped a punch and tried to execute a hip throw, but the attempt failed as the opponent was fast enough to counter it, taking her into armlock. She wasn't any less skilled than her opponent. Reyes wasn't that good, but she was twice as big. _Try to fucking throw something twice your weight!_ Reyes let her go, but not before pushing a bit harder as if trying to break her arm. _Asshole._

"Good job, Reyes," an instructor said. "Again."

Max rubbed her arm. Probably injured. She was tired of losing and she loathed Reyes, who had hated her guts from the day one. Max had no idea what her problem was and preferred to ignore the bitch. She didn't matter. Max's plan had always been to be just good enough to avoid failing. However, as the time went by, her priorities gradually shifted. It was very hard to always be looked down upon. She wanted to get stronger.

She was so lost in thought that she almost missed Reyes throwing a punch in to her gut. The time stopped. Literally. It had happened before. Her power would act on his own in moments like this, but she had never made use of it. But each time it got a bit more difficult to convince herself to ignore her abilities. Besides, freezing time wasn't an option. It would look like teleportation which would raise very difficult questions. But what if she could slow time down instead of freezing?

 _It should be possible. Just this one fucking time._

She focused on her power and time sped up, but not all the way to its normal speed. It was still a little slower. Max was surprised that it was actually easy and much less exhausting than full time freeze. She dodged the punch and danced around her opponent, who couldn't even touch her. Max felt excited and for the first time a hand-to-hand spar thrilled her. Finally, she threw Reyes off balance, forced her to the ground and trapped her in an arm lock. Max let the time go at normal pace. That felt good.

"Very good, Caulfield," the instructor said as Reyes yielded. "What the hell were you doing all the time if you can move like this? Keep it up."


	5. Chapter 5

Graduation. Had someone told her a half year ago that she would be a Marine, she would have called them crazy. She was looking at the list of possible specialties. There wasn't anything non-combatant she could qualify for without formal education, but that wasn't a problem anymore. She had nothing against infantry. Besides it felt nice to be called Marine. Corporal Caulfield. Well, that had a nice ring to it. Max grinned.

Despite her initial difficulties she had managed to graduate as one of the platoon's best. There were only two other Marines from her platoon who had graduated with the rank of Corporal. Of course, she had cheated like a superpowered ninja, but the power was a part of her. Just like height was for other recruits. And the best part: no storm no matter how much she had used her powers.

Few of them would join her in the Infantry Training School in Rio, most of them would get less dangerous jobs. Her results in the ITS would decide her specialty and subsequently the duty station. It was important. Although she liked it so far, Max still wanted to quit the moment she could. An unfortunate duty station could hamper her chances of getting a degree. She would have to be good to avoid getting stationed on some shitty colony in the middle of nowhere.

"Hey Caulfield," Reyes called from behind.

"Reyes," Max said looking up from her omni-tool.

"Gonna visit family?"

"I don't have a family, dumbass."

"Seriously?" Taylor asked. "Well, fuck. That sucks. Friends?"

"Nah, got only you."

Somehow Taylor Reyes had become her friend soon after the day when Max had finally kicked her ass in hand-to-hand combat. Reyes could still be a megabitch, but she was dependable when it came to duty. She had been a street urchin, a member of some gang before enlistment and she had needed some time to grow out of her bad habits.

"Then it's just the two of us. Wanna hang out together? Ain't got any shit to do anyway."

"I plan to save my leave actually, but we can hang out today, I guess."

"Great, me too," she said with a grin. "So, Rio?"

"Unless you have some business in Macapa."

"No, let's get a shuttle."

Max was looking forward to shopping in Rio after four months of non-stop training. There were a few thousand creds in her account and she could afford a good omni-tool, not the best on market, but it would have an excelent sensor analysis pack and a fabrication module. Max really wanted to check if she could get some readings on her superpower.

"So, where you from?" Taylor asked as their shuttle sped towards Rio.

"Come to think of it, we haven't talked much about these things."

"Right," she said laughing. "No time to waste with DIs breathing down our necks."

"I've no idea where I'm from," Max said with a sigh. "Grew up isolated from the outside world. You?"

"I was running with the Reds in Atlanta, got fed up and left."

"The Reds?"

"The fuckers who control slums in Atlanta and pretty much everywhere in the UNAS. They're selling drugs and guns, running protection money racket and shit like this."

"Why did you leave them?" Max asked.

"They told me to kidnap a lil' girl. Told them to fuck off."

"Can't imagine they were okay with it."

"Yeah, killed the fuckers."

"Isn't that, well, a crime?"

"And kidnapping isn't? Cops ain't give a fuck about the Reds, and the Alliance accepts anyone as long as you pass their psychotest and have no serious criminal records."

"You led an interesting life."

"No shit," she said looking out of the window. "You're taking it better than I thought."

"Did you expect me to freak out?"

"No way! Although you strike me as a little goody-two-shoes bitch, you know?"

"Fuck you, Reyes."

"Love you too, Caulfield. It confuses hell outta me. I'd thought you'd been in the wrong place at boot camp, then you did your ninja shit beating the living crap outta everyone."

"Hope it taught you to not underestimate people."

"Whatever. I'll take a nap if you don't mind."

A minute later Taylor was already snoring. Max snorted as she looked at her fellow Marine. She couldn't help but notice that Reyes was anything but beautiful. A hideous scar on her left cheek most certainly didn't help. Max looked out the window and drifted off to sleep too.

* * *

Unlike Vancouver and Seattle, Rio didn't merge with São Paulo although there was no visible boundary between the cities. Over hundred million people lived in the cities. Rio was colorful and immense with endless holographic decorations and millions skycars flying over and between the skyscrapers. A few months ago, she had been stunned by Vancouver, but now it seemed small and bleak.

Taylor whistled as she came out of the skycar.

"Holy fuck! This city is insane," she said.

"Wasn't Atlanta quite big too?" Max asked.

"Not like this."

"I take it you didn't travel much."

"What? You're kidding me, right? I spent my whole life in a shithole on the edge of Atlanta."

Max activated her omni-tool and searched for a good store that was selling omni-tools.

"There's a shopping district a few blocks that way," Max said.

"You wanna buy a dress or something?" Taylor asked with a wide grin on her face.

Max poked her in the ribs. "What, you want to see me in a dress?"

"Wouldn't mind."

"Don't hold your breath," Max said. "Come on, we don't have much time to waste."

"Aye sir."

"Shut it, Reyes."

The shopping district was as big as Max had imagined. If she had more time and money, she wouldn't mind to spend more time in the shops. There was a wide range of omni-tools available in various electronic shops, but Max couldn't afford top of the line models. Having the authorization, she had bought a good military grade omni-tool from Sirta Foundation that had everything she needed.

"You're insane," Reyes said. "You spent almost four months' salary on this shit. The Alliance would provide you with one, you know?"

"Yes, but it would be a basic one. I need a good analysis pack and these things are expensive."

"I'm not paying for your pizza."

"Chow hall is fine."

"Well, to each his own, I guess." She shrugged. "Now, let's find a nice place to get drunk."

* * *

Max woke up early. Reyes was still sleeping in her bed and wouldn't wake up for a few hours judging by the number of shots of tequila she had drunk last night. Max had drunk too, so first thing first: she had to find some water. She found a bottle of soda in a small fridge and emptied it into her mouth. _Much better…_

They were granted two weeks of leave, but neither Max nor Reyes wanted to waste it. They had six hours to report to the school, otherwise one day of their leave would be lost, which was okay. The perfect time to see if the omni-tool would get any readings from her powers. She sat on the bed and switched on her omni-tool and selected the sensor analysis pack. Max had no idea how to use it properly. A short tutorial wouldn't make her a scientist and she wouldn't be able to draw any serious conclusion from the results, but at least she would get a vague idea about her powers… if she'd get anything at all.

 _Let's start with the broad scanning range,_ she decided.

The scanner was working. Max sighed and focused on her power, gradually slowing down the time until it completely froze. A second later Max let the time go and waited for another ten seconds and stopped the scan. A minute later she had the results. Or lack of them. She hadn't expected much from it, but it was still disappointing. She repeated the experiment with the omni-tool on the bed and using different modes, but to the same result.

 _At least nobody's going to learn about my powers. Probably._

She knew that there were many expert options and adjustments in the analysis pack and she would need to learn how to use it properly if she ever hoped to learn more about her powers. She wouldn't give up on studying her ability to control time.

Max let out a deep sigh and after a short bathroom visit walked out onto the balcony that had a direct view on a beautiful beach and the endless towers of Rio. It was a luxurious hotel and one of the best rooms, but they could afford it for one night. It was nice to relax for a bit.

Her omni-tool signaled her about a new message. David was congratulating her on the graduation from the boot camp. She had forgotten to message him about it, but he remembered the day of her graduation. Max wondered where he was stationed. As a Lieutenant Commander he was probably in charge of some frigate in the Navy. It felt awkward to ask. She sent him a thanks.

Her mind drifted to the past and Arcadia Bay. Where had the storm come from? And why? In the last two months she had been using her power, but nothing bad had happened. Absolutely nothing. She hadn't tried to rewind though. Maybe slowing down and freezing the time wasn't as bad as rewinding?

Max activated the scanner again and rewound a few seconds of time. Then she studied the readings on the omni-tool. Her eyes widened as she saw the result. Max let the omni-tool visualize the data and looked horrified at the visualized cracks of a space-time anomaly spreading and splintering in all direction.

 _Fuck! I hope I didn't start a cataclysm._

There was no doubt about it: changing past was dangerous. She wasn't good at physics, but space-time anomalies in the middle of a city couldn't be good. She had been rewinding time many dozen times back in Arcadia Bay. No wonder that she had caused the storm. Arcadia Bay must have been one big anomaly by the end. But the worst thing: she could have saved Chloe. Her death hadn't been destined. She had just had to stop rewinding time.

About a minute later, there was no sign of the anomaly. It had faded, but Max wasn't sure if it hadn't caused some shit somewhere. She would be forced to use the rewind very carefully.

 _Max the walking weapon of mass destruction._


	6. Chapter 6

"Listen up!" Lieutenant Zhang said. "The next week you will be assigned to your permanent duty stations or invited to receive advanced training. Some of you might think that you've already done enough to get into your desired career path. Think again, because if you perform poorly today, I promise that you can forget about your dream assignment. Today's war game is the last one and it's going to be the CTF. You know the drill."

The Infantry Training School was much more fun than the boot camp. The latter one was mostly about discipline and basic training, while the former imparted very useful skills and knowledge. Over the months there had been fifteen field training exercises and this one was the last one. Despite the lieutenant's words Max was quite sure that her results were good enough for a good duty station, but she would still give it her all.

She was a red team leader in Lin's squad. Almeida was a platoon commander this time, which was disappointing. She had been looking forward to the war game, but with Almeida being the platoon commander it would probably be a short exercise. He was a fool with an inflated ego. Lieutenant Zhang was giving him the last chance, Max reasoned, but she didn't believe that he would ever be promoted past Corporal. She didn't know Lin well, but at least the lieutenant didn't shuffle the teams. She would be with Reyes, Fokin and Wang. They were a good team.

To be truthful, even after months at the infantry school it was still hard to comprehend that she had somehow ended up commanding a team of marines. Chloe would have never believed. Hell, Max wouldn't have believed either, but here she was one of the best scoring marines of the Infantry School.

"It's going to end quickly," Reyes said.

"Yeah," Fokin agreed. "I was hoping for a chance to show off… a little."

"Keep the chatter down and move to the shuttle," Max said. "You'll get the chance."

Nikita Fokin was a marine from Russia. His surname was the source of thousand jokes. He was prone to silly mistakes but otherwise quite good. Anke Wang was German with Chinese ancestry. She was the opposite of Fokin: quiet and disciplined, but nowhere as good as Fokin. They were still PFC like Reyes. Not that there was much difference between Corporal and PFC. The rank of Corporal was guaranteed after twelve months in service, so they would eventually catch up to her.

From what she had read, the Alliance rank structure differed a lot from the one that had been used in the 20th century. There were no branches. Even the Alliance Marines were but a part of the Navy and with enough training any marine could eventually become a commanding officer of an Alliance vessel. The Alliance normally considered anyone ranked lower than Corporal as NRFC, meaning Not-Ready-For-Combat. A nicer expression for Fucking-New-Guy. Corporals weren't much better and served mostly groundside in various garrisons. The only way to the fleet was to serve long enough to be promoted or to be noticed by an officer because of exceptional skills.

Serving with the fleet was prestigious. And different. A lieutenant would normally lead a platoon groundside. On a vessel though it would a team or a squad. Smaller scales, higher ranks, better equipment and immense responsibility. With that said, it was much easier to get a promotion here than in the 20th century. The Alliance Navy was a fast-growing organization and desperately needed more grunts and officers. An inexperienced commander was better than no commander at all and that meant huge opportunities for promotions.

The shuttle brought them to the Red Base and they quickly got in positions in case the blue platoon would try to attack early. Max was a team leader this time and didn't have any say in planning their strategy but knowing Almeida squad leaders would be ignored too. Her fears were confirmed a few minutes later when the leaders finished discussing their tactics. Lin, Fuchs and Ogawa seemed to be angry.

"Lin, your squad will defend the base," Almeida ordered. "Fuchs and Ogawa will go with me to capture the blue flag."

The next half an hour nothing happened. Max's team was assigned with defending the flag, which meant she wouldn't fire a single shot until the very end. Boring and needless. The plan wasn't good in her opinion. Almeida wanted to assault the blue base with two squads. Not only would the blue platoon have numbers on their side, but they would also be in a better position behind the walls. Either that or they would meet in the forest. And since Almeida didn't intend to spread the teams out… Their squads were going to be slaughtered.

"Damn," Fokin said. "I hate this hurry up and wait shit."

"That's what Marines do, Fokin," Reyes said.

"I'd rather hurry up and shoot."

"I've got a better idea. How about hurry up and shut up?"

"Not nice, Reyes."

"Do I look like a nice person?"

"Hmm, you've got a point there," Fokin said. "Anyway, any idea what duty station you're going to request after the graduation?"

"I'll follow Caulfield."

Max snorted. "As if I'd want your ass anywhere near me."

"Who said your opinion matters?" Reyes asked.

"I did."

Suddenly they heard gunfire outside of the base.

"Red base, this is Alpha!" came the voice over the radio on the platoon-wide channel. "Contact. Sector Bravo 7."

"Roger," Lin responded and then continued on the squad channel: "Get ready, marines!"

"Stay in cover," Max commanded. "And cut the chatter."

They waited. The flag was located on a hill. The area was easy defendable and provided enough cover to hold the position under heavy fire. She was sure that they could defend against frontal attack, but an attack from the left would be bad.

"Red Base, this is Bravo. Alpha Squad is down. Lost two full teams on my squad. Not sure if we took anyone down. Retreating."

"Roger," Lin replied. "Need assistance?"

"Negative."

For a few minutes there was silence. She hated doing nothing while her teammates were fighting. The squads must have walked into a trap, otherwise they would inflict at least some damage. She would have to assume that it was them against full platoon. Almost no chance to win without going overboard with her powers.

"Red Base, this is Bravo. We're pinned down. Won't make it to the base. We'll try to reduce their numbers for you."

"Good luck, Bravo," Lin responded. "Charlie Three Team, get ready for a frontal assault, we'll cover the flank as long as we can."

"Roger," Max said.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander David Anderson was disappointed. He had been watching the field training exercise from the very beginning, but it was a goddamn mess. The blue platoon performance was acceptable, their strategy decent. There were mistakes and their inexperience was glaring, but they were okay. For boots. The red platoon, however… The platoon commander was a bufoon. The trap was obvious, the squad leaders gave the cue, but he still led them into the trap.

"I wonder why he was promoted," he said.

"I ask that myself, Commander," LT Zhang replied, watching the feed from the drones over the training field. "He's good in CQC and he's got excellent marksmanship, but he's unfit for command."

"Agreed."

The situation was hopeless for the retreating marines. A single team against two squads? Impossible odds. Still the team leader managed to keep the team in game long enough to take down five marines from the blue platoon.

"What's his name?" David asked.

"Corporal Christian Fuchs, Commander," LT replied. "One of the best in the current course."

"He's done very well considering the situation."

The lieutenant nodded. "If I may ask, Commander, is there a particular reason why you are here?"

"Corporal Caulfield," David replied.

"Oh… Of course," LT Zhang said. "You aren't the only one interested in her. I was worried that her talent would be going to waste on some distant rock in a garrison due to lack of high school diploma. Fortunately, she took a test last week. Passed with a record score. I'll be really surprised if she doesn't receive an invitation to the N-School soon."

The lieutenant couldn't be any closer to truth. David was here to appraise her skills. He had read reports about her, mostly because she was an oddity, but hadn't paid much attention until she had made enough noise to catch interest of the N-School. That day, when he had found her at the old lighthouse, she had reminded him of a scared cat, first time out of a cozy home. The police investigation had shed some light on her past, but most of it was still unknown. Why would anyone clone a random girl from the 20th century? Considering her unique skills however…

They watched as the blue platoon attacked the Red Base. It wasn't a well-organized assault. Their commanders were either mediocre or too cocky after success against the two red squads. The numbers advantage was, however, overwhelming. Under heavy fire two red teams retreated to the core of the base in order to cover the flank for Caulfield's team that was holding the front entrance to the area around the flag. A sound strategy under circumstances. Then he noticed something odd. Caulfield had moved faster than physically possible. In an instant her position had slightly changed. _A glitch? Must be it._

"It seems Caulfield's going to counterattack," the lieutenant commented. "Bad decision."

"I disagree," David said.

"It's four against thirteen, Commander."

"Yes, but holding the position isn't an option either."

Caulfield dashed forward with a speed of a cheetah, while her teammates provided cover fire. She slowed down for a short moment to aim and fire, taking down a marine, before diving behind the cover of a wall. The next second one of her teammates ran forward, while others poured fire on the blue squad. They were repeating it, moving one random person in time. A textbook maneuver, flawlessly executed. But it wasn't surprising. Although few could do it right out of the boot camp, teamwork was expected of the Alliance marines. Surprising were Caulfield's speed and accuracy. Outstanding would be an understatement. While others were simply providing cover fire, every time she would pop out from her cover a marine from the blue squad would fall.

"Holy shit," LT Zhang whispered looking at the screen.

David didn't say anything, but he agreed. Caulfield's aim was perfect and lightning-fast. The reports were praising her speed and accuracy, but he hadn't believed that she was this good. Inhumanly good. It took her team about a minute to break though the line, taking down the whole blue squad. With a single casualty. The blue platoon didn't have the numbers advantage anymore. They were encircled. The red platoon won.

 _What a miraculous turnaround_ , David thought.


	7. Chapter 7

As the alarm rang, Max sighed and looked up from her omni-tool. Single repeating blast. There was no rush. She was writing the last page of her thesis and the alarm was came at very inconvenient time. She had two weeks till the deadline, but Max didn't want to delay it until the last moment. Her power couldn't help her like it did for exams.

Two years ago, she had enrolled at the Technical University Munich for distance learning, which was pretty common in the 22nd century. She had chosen physics and computer science. Max couldn't say that she had ever been good at math or physics, and she wasn't a computer geek, but she had good reasons to succeed. As the time went by, Max realized that neither math nor physics was as insanely difficult as she had used to believe. Well... her powers were helpful too and she was almost finished after two instead of three years.

Max wasn't giving up on learning more about her powers and specialized herself with that in mind. As for computer science, she took courses which could help her in her military career. Omni-tool was very useful in combat. Right after the ITS, she, Reyes and Fokin had gone through the reconnaissance marine training. Both of them had proven to be good enough, unlike Wang who had failed and had chosen a garrison on Elisium. The three of them had accepted an assignment to the recon frigate SSV Magnesia.

She pulled on her uniform and went to the cargo bay. She liked the ship. Unlike the majority of the Alliance Marines on spaceships, who were mostly doing the hurry up and wait thing, Marines on Magnesia didn't have time to get bored. Among other things they were installing long-range scanners, visiting recon stations, shooting smugglers and other criminal scum on unregistered vessels, doing deep reconnaissance in the Terminus Systems. The best way to protect a colony was to neutralize an enemy long before the attack. Not that they always were successful.

The rest of the squad except the LT was already in the cargo bay. Six Marines. A small two-teams squad, but enough for most recon missions. Besides, there was no space for more on the SSV Magnesia. The vessel was cramped to fill all the necessary equipment and personnel, which left little space for anything else.

"Hey, Caulfield," Fokin said, "did you eat a lemon?"  
"Not sure what you mean, but fuck you, Nikita," replied Max. "It would be nice to have a lemon though."  
"Yeah, I hope we'll get a shore leave on Arcturus or Earth soon."  
"Dream on..." Reyes said.  
"Cut the chatter!"

The Marines lined up as Lieutenant Lucas Roja entered the bay.

"At easy. We've got suspicious activity in the Moolung System. Two vessels about parsec away. Our objective is to investigate and to make sure they're no threat to our colonies."

"What's suspicious about the ships, LT?" Fokin asked.

Nikita had been promoted to a NCO two months later than Max and was a Service Chief like her. Much to her displeasure. Not that she wasn't happy for him, but his promotion forced him out of her team and she had to train a FNG replacement. PFC Jack Germansson wasn't a bad Marine, but he wasn't Fokin. On a happy note, Nikita had to deal with two FNGs of his own.

"The largest vessel signature matches the ship of a known batarian slaver Char Amak," the LT explained. "He's a suspect of multiple raids on our colonies. It's highly likely that he works for the Hegemony."  
"You think they plan a raid?" Reyes asked.  
"Are there any colonies in Moolung?" Germansson asked.  
"There's a mass relay leading to Pelasgian Cluster," replied LT Roja.  
"Which is a single jump away from Elysium," Max said.  
"Exactly."  
"But Elysium is a very tough nut to crack," Fokin said. "Not sure what they can achieve with two vessels."  
"Yes, and we'll make sure that they won't have the vessels to raid our colonies," Roja said.

* * *

When Magnesia dropped out of FTL, the squad was ready for boarding, but first they had to endure a few long minutes of space battle. The enemy vessels were orbiting the third planet of the system. They were simply drifting with their engines off to avoid detection. If there hadn't been an Alliance scanner array hidden on one of the moons, the ships would be nigh invisible. A small corvette and an old batarian frigate.

Max didn't know what was happening. They were under the protocol to hail the suspicious vessels before shooting, but she felt growing vibrations of the charging main gun, which meant the captain didn't believe in successful negotiations. Or they failed. The cargo bay shook as the mass accelerator threw the first slug at an enemy vessel. A moment later she heard a familiar firing sound of secondary weapons.

It wasn't Max's first space battle, but she couldn't get used to the feeling of total powerlessness. She could only trust in the helmsman`s skills and rely on the element of surprise. They had mostly been lucky until now. The one time they had been caught with their trousers down, a chance meeting with a pirate cruiser accompanied by two frigates had almost been fatal for Magnesia. They had lost their shields after the first salvo and insane helmsman's skills had gotten them out alive.

"All targets disabled," the flight lieutenant reported.  
"Boarding party prepare for the fun part," the captain commanded.

Max sighed with relief. She loved space flights, but hated space fights. The only real downside of serving in the Navy. Those who served groundside had their skills and weapons to thank for survival. In space though... Some freak hundred-pounds-heavy slug could break through the shields and kill everyone before they knew it. Luckily for them, Flight Lieutenant Carlo Pisano was one of the best in the Alliance.

Soon she felt the ship touching the enemy vessels. The airlock indicator blinked and turned green.

"Take up your positions!" Roja ordered.

Max unfastened herself and floated towards the airlock. As per regulation there was neither air nor gravity on the Magnesia while they were in combat. Gravitational mass effect fields were in inertia negation mode. They took their positions around the airlock on the floor. Normally she wouldn't call it floor, but in a zero-G environment floor could be any chosen surface.

"Begin," Roja said as they took positions around the airlock.

"Flash grenade," Max commanded and opened the door.

A grenade flew through the hole. The name had somehow survived through the time, but it was an EMP grenade that temporarily disabled electronics rather than a simple flashbang. Omni-tools, weapons, shield generators... Everything failed within a radius of the blast. As long as an enemy didn't have N-grade equipment.

Not a single living soul met them on the other side. No life signs on the scanner. Only dead bodies floating in the darkness.

"Clear," Fokin reported.  
"Let's move," the lieutenant said.

They didn't go through the elevator, instead they flew through maintenance shafts. Sometimes they would notice some movement, but every single time it was just another dead batarian.

"Creepy as fuck," Reyes muttered.  
"Pisano hit too hard," Max said. "I doubt we'll find anyone to interrogate."  
"Everyone's dead due to an impact," Fokin said as he examined another corpse. "Seems like one of our slugs damaged the drive core which caused a short-term spike in hypergravity."

Max really hated space battles.

"There's a life sign in the bow section," Roja said. "Stay focused."

The squad was combing through every single room of the ship, moving slowly to the bow. They found a broken body of a naked asari in one of the rooms.

"Chipped," Nikita said as he scanned the body. "Meila T'Ranu. Reported missing more than two hundred years ago after a slave raid on an asari colony."  
"Fucking animals," Taylor hissed.

Max tightened her grip on the rifle as she boiled with anger. She knew that it wouldn't be right to say that every single batarian was a slaver scum. The majority of them were slaves themselves, but every single batarian she met didn't make it easy for her to believe that.

"We'll get her on the way back," Roja instructed.

The squad found the only survivor on the bridge, but he was more dead than alive. Medi-gel was a wonder salve, but it wouldn't help the batarian. He looked like meat turned through a grinder. The only reason he was still alive was high-end armor with quality shields and inertia compensators. Max looked up to the LT, but he shook his head. Max wanted to shoot the batarian, but the lieutenant clearly thought that the batarian didn't deserve mercy.

"Char Amak," Fokin said as he scanned the dying batarian.  
"Fuck!" Roja exclaimed. "I hoped to interrogate him. We have to know what they were doing here. Comb through the ship for anything useful."

A sudden alarm shook Max out of sleep.

* * *

It took them two hours to get through every system on the ship. SSV Magnesia was hidden in the debris left from the battle as they waited for decryption of the data from Amak's omni-tool. There had to be a reason he was hiding in the middle of nowhere on the orbit of planet next to a mass relay. The perfect position to watch the relay. There had to be something.

This time she was the last to get to the cargo bay.

"We've decrypted Amak's message log," Roja said. "They had a plan to attack Elysium. Amak was tasked with watching this-"  
"The board is green," the helmsman reported. "Approaching the relay."  
"-route."  
"Then why the fuck are we leaving, LT?" Reyes asked.  
"We're too late," Roja explained. "Moolung was a fallback route. We've received a distress signal from Elysium."


	8. Chapter 8

It took forty minutes to get to the Elysium. A few Alliance vessels were successfully using hit and run tactics against enemy fleet, which unfortunately had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. There was little hope to push them back as long as the main force of the Alliance was still en route. The Alliance frigates could barely shoot a single slug at the attacking fleet before they had no choice but to retreat. On the other hand, pirate vessels couldn't keep up with much more advanced Alliance frigates while staying in orbit, which meant neither side could destroy each other yet.

It was much worse on the ground.

Illyria was the capital and the largest city of Elysium. The north of the city was a slum area filled with stacks of prefabricated house modules, the leftovers from the colonization efforts in the 2160s. As the time went by house modules were sold to poor colonists, who were arriving en mass to Elysium. Shiny skyscrapers, malls and residential towers in the south and slums in the north. A very depressing sight.

The large-scale raid had taken everyone by surprise. The only Marine brigade stationed on the planet was unable to stop the raiders. Many Marines died in the first minutes of the attack. Those who survived retreated to the Illyria's downtown, which was in chaos by that time. People were trying to get to the space port in hope to get away, but as long as there was a fleet in orbit, it was too dangerous to flee from the planet. Civilian ships didn't have any chance to break through the blockade as they neither had any weapons nor strong shields.

Max had never been to Elysium... or other colonies. More than two years into the service and she still hadn't used a day of her leave time. Short shore leaves on Arcturus aside and a few raids on pirate bases in the Terminus Systems, she spent some time on Earth and Mars for sniper and officer training. It would be her first time on a human colony world.

Max couldn't decide if was supposed to be proud for humanity to be able to colonize a world thousands of lightyears away from Earth, or to be disappointed in humanity's inability to build a society without inequality and poverty. Almost two hundred years into the future, lots of technological wonders, spaceships and mini-fabricators, dozens upon dozens of colonies and people lived in slums that reminded her of the worst visions of human future she had seen in the 20th century.

She shook her head and focused on the conversation.

"No," Captain Crain said. "Magnesia's too vulnerable without kinetic shields."

"We could go through the slums," the lieutenant proposed.

"And what then? Do you wish to fight through the enemy lines all the way down to the space port?" Crain asked. "You have only six Marines, Roja."

"But we can't just leave them!"

"If you have any realistic idea, I'm listening."

Their forces on the ground, or what left of them, urgently needed help. Senior military staff was MIA. Dead, captured or deserted. According to some messages Lieutenant Jane Shepard had successfully taken command of scattered und panicking forces, encouraged and convinced civilians to take up arms to protect the colony. The advance of the attackers had been slowed down. A noteworthy achievement considering the enemy forces outnumbered the defenders at least five to one.

It was anything but a common raid. Fucking Hegemony!

According to the latest messages the raiders had overwhelmed defenses on the eastern side of the space port. Nobody knew for sure what had happened afterwards. Some reported that raiders captured the space port, but later these messages were refuted. It seemed as if Lieutenant Shepard was single-handedly holding the line, which was hard to believe. That sounded like something out of legends about three hundred Spartans. But even if she was somehow holding the line, how long would she last against overwhelming forces? No-one would come to help. Max would, but she had no idea how to get there.

"Captain, what about an orbital or high attitude drop?" Fokin asked.

"Are you insane, Chief?" Crain said. "You don't have the qualification or equipment."

"I mean a drop inside Goblin."

Captain Crain didn't answer immediately, which meant he was considering the idea. He had begun his career as an Enlisted Marine and knew well how dangerous an orbital drop would be, but it was obvious that he liked the idea. If she had a choice, Max would never even consider it, but at the moment any idea, even insane one, seemed to be better than doing nothing.

"Goblin's no fighting vehicle," the captain said.

"But it does have kinetic shields and a pair of machine guns," Nikita argued.

"It wouldn't last long, but we would win a few minutes," Max agreed.

"If the anti-aircraft guns are under Alliance control. Otherwise it would be a short journey."

"Pisano," Captain Crain said, selecting a target on the tactical map. "If I ask you to drop Goblin here..."

"I'll do it, Captain!" the helmsman exclaimed.

"Goblin has space for five," the captain muttered. "Lieutenant, you stay on Magnesia."

"But Captain-"

"I need you here. Enemy fleet is still in the orbit."

"Aye, Captain." Roja sighed. "Caulfield, take command and assemble the team."

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant," she answered.

Max doubted Crain really needed Roja as a XO on Magnesia. Roja had started as a Lieutenant after the college and didn't have much real experience apart from two boarding operations. Max, Taylor and Nikita had gone through many firefights in space and groundside. They had experience. It was logical to let the lieutenant sit this one out.

"Alright, girls," Max said as they got to the cargo bay. "They're going to drop us inside Goblin. If you didn't use head yet, I strongly advise you to do it now."

Marines chuckled.

"Reyes, you'll drive," Max ordered. "Ichikawa, machine guns. Fournier, drones."

"What about me, Chief?" Germansson asked.

"Sit this one out."

As she watched her team getting into the vehicle, Max took a selfie. She hoped there would be no need to use it. She got inside and closed the hatch. Neither Foklin nor Reyes looked nervous, unlike Ichikawa and Fourneier. Like Roja they didn't have much combat experience.

"Goblin is green, Pisano," Max reported.

"I didn't think Goblin is intended for orbital drops," Ichikawa said.

"It's not." Reyes smiled. "But don't worry, it'll get us to the ground."

"Alive, I hope?"

"Hey, Caulfield said to use head. No shitting inside Goblin."

Max facepalmed.

"Reyes," she said. "Stop."

"Aye."

"Keep it together, Ichikawa," Fokin said. "It's not the worst mess we've been through. You're going to be back on Magneisa in no time."

Not the worst mess? Right...

"As soon as we touch the ground, Ichikawa, shoot the fuckers," Max ordered. "Fourneier, launch the drones and drive the Goblin somewhere safe. We'll need drone support. Don't be heroes, just do your job. Understood?"

"Aye, aye, Chief!"

"Fokin, Reyes, with me."

"Dropping in five," the helmsman spoke over the radio, "four, three, two, one."

The next moment the vehicle shook as they were thrown out of the cargo bay and flew down to the earth. Time moved painfully slow and Max was barely keeping her shit together. They were a perfect target and at any time an anti-aircraft gun could shoot them out of air. Finally, Reyes turned on thrusters, slowing down the fall before they touched the ground. A moment later she heard as Ichikawa began raking the raiders with machine-gun fire.

"Out!" she shouted, opening the hatch.

It was hell outside. ON the street between two half-destroyed building lay dozens of bloody bodies of asari, turians, batarians and humans. Some civilians, some Marines and some raiders. The Goblin put the lid on the raider's enthusiasm and they were retreating under heavy fire. Very good. The survivors would need some time to regroup.

"Find some cover for the Goblin," she ordered as she noticed an Alliance Officer. She led her team to them. Lieutenant, by some miracle, was still alive. Half a hour against dozens of these fuckers. Alone in a light armor without a helmet. An hour ago Max would claim that it was impossible even with her abilities.

"Lieutenant Shepard?" she asked.

Max was a little surprised by the lieutenant's appearance. Considering the circumstances, she had expected to find someone similar to Reyes: a huge, broad-shouldered woman, who could get a krogan scared hitless with a single glance. Instead, Shepard was an attractive young woman of European descent. Her face was full of freckles and she was just a little higher than Max. Either the lieutenant's parents had paid a lot of creds for an expensive genetic therapy or she was one of the last natural human red-heads in the galaxy.

"Service Chief Max Caulfield of the 63rd Scout Flotilla, SSV Magnesia," she reported.

"How many, Chief?" the lieutenant asked. She looked tired. "Or is it just you?"

"Just us," Max answered. "Service Chief Fokin and Corporal Reyes. There are two FNGs in the Goblin, they're going to provide support."

"Well, better than nothing, I guess," Shepard said. "Nice trick with the landing, by the way. I'll adopt the practice."

"It was Fokin's idea, Lieutenant. Reinforcements will be here in about forty minutes."

"Good, we'll hold out here," she said with conviction. "Any energy bars?"

"Biotic?" Fokin asked.

Lieutenant nodded, but got a bit tense at the question. Biotics had often been victims of social prejudice and discrimination, supported by religious organizations and paranoid idiots on social networks. Max understood, why people were afraid of biotics. It looked like magic and then there were asari, who could read minds. Scared people tended to act like stupid jerks. The way the Alliance handled the first bunch of human biotics turned things from bad to worse.

Max hadn't ever seen a human biotic with her own eyes. She had seen a few asari on Arcturus, and a batarian biotic through a scope of her sniper rifle. She studied Shepard's face trying to find some signs that she was somehow different, but the lieutenant looked just like any other ordinary human.

"I know how you feel," Fokin said as he handed two energy bars. "My brother is a biotic too."

"What about the Goblin?" Shepard asked, munching on the bars.

"It's not a fighting vehicle. It's mostly electronic warfare and drones. Mediocre shields and light armor. That's not a Grizzly, Lieutenant. We may use it if there's no other choice, but it won't last a minute against serious assault."

The lieutenant nodded.

"Alright," Shepard said. "This street is the only way to the space port from our side. We'll be retreating on command towards that defense line. It's the last one. The buildings and roofs are booby-trapped."

"We had reports that anti-air canons may be captured," Max said.

"Indeed, they were right before the assault, but we recaptured them," Shepard explained.

"Sabotage? Any information on how it happened?"

"They got a family of a Marine hostage."

"What are these fuckers trying to achieve anyway?" Reyes muttered. "That's not how they normally work."

"Nothing is normal about this attack. They are paid to capture the space port."

"By whom?" Max asked.

"Some Elanos Haliat, but the Hegemony..."

"We've got some movement," Reyes reported.

"Fuck," Shepard cursed. "I hoped we'd have more time. Caulfield, Sniper?"

"Aye."

"Get to that position. Shoot anything that moves. I take point. Fokin, Reyes take flanks."

Max could shoot without distractions. She knew how to use her powers with a sniper rifle effectively. She saw a movement, used her powers to slow down time and shot six time to breach the shields and to kill the turian raider. She had long given up on counting her kills. It had been very difficult the first time. A ship's psychologist helped her to deal with it. It didn't mean she liked to kill. Humans or aliens.

Humans were still new in the galaxy. In most cases she had to shoot batarians, turians and asari. Sometimes salarians. It would be easy to adopt a racist mindset. They aren't humans. They're batarians, turians, krogan, asari. They're blue whores, four-eyes fuckers, frogs, skull-faces, metal-faces, cuttlebones, suit rats and animals. It was an age-old rule: divide people into us and them, use a slur for them, convince yourself that the enemy is inferior and it will get easier to drown out your conscience and to kill.

Max didn't want to lie to herself. They were people. Humans, asari, batarians and turians. Some individuals were good and some were scum. There were no more assholes among turians than among humans. The only thing she was telling herself was that the raiders before her were enemy scum who deserved to die, because they attacked a colony and killed civilians.

The raiders were slowly moving forward. No matter how much power she used the rifle still was getting hot. She neither could shoot without a stop nor use her abilities without a pause. There were so many bullets in the air that it would be almost impossible to shoot without her ablities. Max shot another batarian und ducked behind a cover.

"Caulfield!" Shepard shouted over the radio. "Get out of there!"

Max didn't hesitate. She ran. A moment later her position was destroyed in a fiery explosion caused by a hit of a heavy slug launched by an M29 Grizzly. Max was too close to explosion, but her power saved her by stopping time. Afraid of anomalies she had been avoiding the ability to rewind. She had used it two times for Reyes and one time for Fokin. Now it was her own turn.

How the fuck did they get their hands on a Grizzly?!

She rewound back a few seconds and ran away from her position.

"Alright, Caulfield?" Shepard asked.

"Aye."

"Lay down some cover fire for us. Fokin, Reyes, retreat."

It was necessary to fall back. They would hold the position longer if the raider hadn't brought the Grizzly. There were too many targets to deal with it. As the team got behind the covers of the last defense line, Shepard breathed heavily. It was an exhausting battle.

"What next, Lieutenant?" Max asked.

"We wait."

Max wasn't sure what they were waiting for as the Grizzly moved closer to their position.

"Get down!" Shepard ordered. "Fire in the hole!"

Max threw herself to the ground behind her cover and a moment later there was a huge explosion. She lost contact to the Goblin drones. Something flew over their head and grey cloud of dust rolled towards their position.

What the fuck did she detonate?! A tactical nuclear weapon?

Max looked up from her cover. Buildings on the either side of the street didn't exist anymore. Shepard detonated them, burying everything under the debris. There was no sign of anyone surviving this hell.

"That's the biggest ass explosion I've ever seen, Lieutenant," Reyes said. "Seems like you had it handled here without us."

"Don't sell yourself short, Corporal," the lieutenant argued. "Good job everyone. I hope it was enough to discourage them from launching another assault. I'm out of tricks."

There was no need to worry. Reinforcements were here.


	9. Chapter 9

SSV Magnesia hadn't been damaged too badly in the battle over Elysium, but she still needed at least three weeks in a space dock. Most of the crew were forced to take leave right after the awards ceremony. The Alliance was trying to deflect attention from the sad truth that one of the most important Alliance colonies had almost been captured by a bunch of pirates. A very big bunch of pirates, but nonetheless pirates. It was embarrassing and they weren't shy about creds for PR. Lots of big speeches, very important people and press.

Lieutenant Shapard had become the hero of the Alliance and had received the Star of Terra, the highest military award of the Alliance. Their suicide orbital drop and actions on the ground hadn't been ignored either. The three of them had gotten Crosses. Max and Taylor had been promoted to Gunnery Chief and Service Chief respectively.

Neither Max nor Taylor had any plans for the vacation and agreed to accompany Nikita, who decided to visit his family. Max had been playing with an idea to meat David, but he was on a mission. Anderson, like Max, didn't seem to have much of a life outside of the Navy. Three years into the service and she hadn't found any time to meet him or his sister, who had been working on something in the Terminus Systems. Max still owed them a big one and hoped to repay somehow.

The rain was pouring in Moscow as their shuttle flew through the downtown. Max had never been interested in Russia to judge if this was common for the capital city of Russia. Her knowledge about Russia was limited to Fokin's stories and things she had known about it from 2013, when it still was the good heiress of the Evil Empire. The Evil Empire was a long-forgotten history now. The city was just as massive as Rio, but more conservative and less colorful. Although it could be the weather and lack of sea affecting her impression.

"Hey, Fucking, would you give us a tour?" Reyes asked.

"Sure," Nikita answered. "We've got enough time."

As they got out of the shuttle Max felt a bit uneasy. It would take some time to get used to open spaces after two years in the narrow corridors of the Magnesia. Somehow, she hadn't felt this way on Elysium.

They were in the old city of Moscow, where low-rise buildings were in majority. Ancient buildings, museums and, of course, Kremlin, the Red Square and that beautiful building with colorful domes, which she had thought to be Kremlin when she had been a child.

"See that small building over there?" Nikita asked. "That's where you could see a mummy a century ago."

"Bullshit," Reyes said. "Everyone knows that mummies are in Egypt."

"You can read about it on the extranet," he said.

"The extranet is full of shit."

"Right, but that's truth. The mummy was a famous tourist attraction. By the middle of the 21th century as it lost its popularity, they buried him. Now it's just a museum."

"Why would anyone want to see a dead man?"

"It was a corpse of Lenin."

"Who the fuck is that?"

"A revolutionary leader of the early 20th century."

"Like Washington?"

"Well, not quite, but you got the general drift."

"People are fucking creeps."

Nikita shrugged.

* * *

Fokin's whole family gathered around the table.

His twelve-years-old sister Alice was in awe of Reyes. Apparently, Taylor looked like a poster supersoldier of the Alliance. A tough muscular two-meter-tall brute. Max didn't look the part at all and was mostly ignored.

To her left sat Leonid, Nikita's older brother, and he didn't look well. Max knew that he was one of the first human biotics and suffered from severe chronic headaches due to his L2 implant. Max had spent a week with Shepard and hadn't noticed any kind of discomfort. Either she was lucky or had an improved version of the implant.

Both Leonid and Nikita were looking a lot like their father, Andrey, although unlike his sons, who had some Asian features from their mother, he had a distinct European look. He had served for twenty years in the Russian armed forced and had retired when it had been completely integrated into the Alliance after the First Contact War.

"Did you and Shepard really repulse the pirates on Elysium single-handedly?" Alice asked.

"Well, we were defending one position," Nikita answered. "The Alliance soldiers and civilians, aliens and humans, everyone was defending the colony."

"But you were with Jane Shapard, right? What is she like?"

Max smiled. The Alliance's PR machine was in full flow on the victory on Elysium and their new hero, who had saved the colony. It didn't surprise her that Alice was so taken with it.

"She's a good Marine," Nikita told his sister. "Elysium would have been captured if not for her."

"Our safety shouldn't depend on a single soldier," Andrey said suddenly. "What happens if the next colony doesn't have its own Shepard?"

"We won, dad," Nikita argued.

"You call it a win? How many civilians died? How many were captured and enslaved?"

"Dad-"

"We'd be better off without the Alliance and their alien-loving-"

"Andrey," his wife interrupted his rant. "We haven't seen Nikita for two years. I don't want you to argue about politics."

Nikita's father shook his head, but stayed silent. He wasn't the only one, who had such views. Max heard some of her fellow Marines talking about it and some of them shared his opinion about the Alliance. "The Alliance doesn't do enough to protect interests of humanity", they said. "The concessions the System Alliance offered to the Council were too generous," others said. There were those worried about human culture and those who thought that the Alliance needed to be more aggressive.

"You're a sniper, aren't you?" Alice asked as she looked at Max.

"Not quite," Max answered with a smile, "but yes, I do have sniper training."

"Can I see your sniper rifle?"

* * *

The week in Russia had passed quickly. Opinion differences aside Fokin had a good family. They had given them a tour around their country, but soon it was time to leave. The capital city of the United North American Statues hadn't changed much in three years. It had grown larger, and there was twice as many aircars flying over their heads, but it was still the same city.

It was the last day of their vacation. Max and Nikita would begin training at the Officer Candidates School and Reyes would return to the Magnesia. They were closer than she was with her own long-dead family. It wouldn't be right to compare them, but who could she trust more than people who had been having her back in dozens of firefights? She was afraid to lose them like she had lost Chloe. It wasn't the first time they'd be separated, but Max still worried for Reyes. What if something would happen to her? Would she be able to save Taylor using a selfie?

"You really should stop scowling, Caulfield," Reyes said and patted her on the shoulder.

Max sighed as she rubbed her shoulder. Taylor was insanely strong.

"I know what you're thinking," Taylor continued. "It's bullshit. We'll see each other in no time. Get an assignment on some cruiser, request my transfer to your squad and we'll be shooting fuckers together again."

"And here I thought we'd finally get rid of the brute," Nikita said.

"Just wait till your sister enlists. She's the clingiest girl I've seen."

"Don't remind me about it. I'd prefer she'd get some civilian job. She's too clumsy for a military life."

"You're saying it because you haven't seen Caulfield in the boot camp," Taylor said laughing. "She was the runt of the litter. Always doing some stupid shit, like losing her rifle in a head."

"Laugh all you want, Reyes, but I was still kicking your ass."

"Yeah-"

Suddenly there was a flash of pain in her head. Max closed her eyes and fell down to her knees. As the pain lessened, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself in the same place, but everything around her changed. Her friends were gone and the street was full of panicking people. She heard familiar sounds of gunfire and explosions. The air smelled of ash and blood. There were huge squid-like things flying and moving through the city, crushing everything in their paths.

"What the fuck is going on here?" she exclaimed.

Max looked around and finally realized that it was a vision. Just like the one she had seen about the storm that had hit Arcadia Bay, but this vision was much worse. She couldn't have caused an invasion, could she? Max tried to turn on her omni-tool, but it didn't work. She tried to stop a man who was running towards her, but he didn't seem to hear or see her. There were weird zombie-like creatures running after him...

"Max?"

She woke up on the ground with Taylor hanging over her. Max tasted blood on her lips.

"Max!"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Fine? What the fuck is fine about it?" Reyes asked. "You fainted and you're fucking bleeding!"

"I've called help," Fokin said.

"Cancel it," Max said. "I'm fine."

"Max," Reyes said, "you look anything but fine. You're scared and I've never seen you really scared of something."

"My fear has no connection to my condition. It was a vis-" she cut herself off. "Anyways, I'm fine. I don't need help."

"As you say," Nikita agreed. "But you need to see a doc-"

"I know what caused it. There is nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Taylor argued.

"There is nothing to worry about at the moment. I'm not dying and don't plan on dying."

"You need to fucking explain this, Max."

She nodded. "Later. Give me some time to collect my thoughts. I need to go somewhere."

"We're coming with you."

"All right," she agreed.

* * *

As they sat in a skycar, Max closed her eyes, trying to remember all the little details from her vision. Vancouver from her vision was larger than this one, which meant this invasion would happen soon. There was time, but how much? Fucking omni-tool. If only it had worked in the vision.

"Did you hear anything about spaceships that look like squids?"

"Squids?" Nikita asked. "Why are you asking?"

Max didn't answer. A dozen minutes later their skycar landed and she led her friends to the place she had once called her home. She had been trying to avoid thinking about Arcadia Bay, her family and Chloe, but the road to the lighthouse brought back a lot of painful memories. She hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself.

"It's nice here," Reyes said as they looked at the bay. "Why are we here?"

"Wait," Max said and took a selfie.


	10. Chapter 10

The moment she took a selfie, Max found herself at the beach, facing the ocean. Was it another vision? She looked around and saw Reyes and Fokin at the forest edge.

 _What the fuck?_

Before she could do anything else her omni-tool beeped. She turned it on and found a video that hadn't been there before. When had she recorded herself?

"Hey," the other Max from the recording said. "I know it's weird and, please, forgive me for what I've done. I've tried everything. I've changed my present many hundreds if not thousands of times. I've been going further and further into the past in hope to change everything for the better, but nothing has worked. And the further I go the more dangerous it gets. You are my last hope. I fear that if I go any further, I would make things worse, because we weren't ready to face what comes."

The other Max looked down for a moment.

"I had to try it," she continued. "Otherwise... Everything goes to hell. You've seen the vision. You know what I'm talking about. First thing first, your omni-tools were compromised after Elysium. I cleaned up and patched them to protect against malware, but that's a temporary solution. I can't guarantee that you won't be hacked again. Never trust any electronic devices if they have access to your private data. If you want to keep something secret, you keep it to yourself. Most communication methods can easily be intercepted. Even if you think you're alone, you are not. Someone will always be watching you. Even in a toilet."

"It may be not this bad at the moment, but it will be once things get serious. Anderson knows that you have special abilities. What's a bit worse, Cerberus knows too. I'm not sure if you know about Cerberus, but anyways, it's an extremist paramilitary group with a goal of establishing human dominance over the galaxy. They have powerful backers in the Alliance. Don't try to go after them. You'll likely fail. Even if you succeed, it's still a bad idea, because they are most useful in the war against the Reapers. The Illusive Man, the leader, is the only one who knows about you. He got rid of everyone else. There's a Cerberus cell that studies your DNA, but they have no idea, who you are. I think they're creating our clones at the moment, trying to recreate our abilities. They won't succeed.

"Although the Illusive Man and Anderson know that we have some ability, they're unaware of its real extent. They think you're just faster than normal humans. You can trust Anderson, however, don't make him doubt you. He won't choose you over the good of the galaxy or the Alliance.

"Now, our abilities. Rewinding causes anomalies, but they're localized and unimportant considering the stakes. Don't be afraid to use your abilities, because billions of lives depend on our success. Going back in time using a selfie doesn't require a selfie. Just close your eyes and focus on your memories about the time and place you want to go back to. A selfie is but a useful crutch. Still... keep taking them.

"I know that you try to learn more about our abilities. I'm nowhere closer to understanding. I spent years of our relative time to learn more, but it's a wasted effort. It's an inefficient use of time. Studying AI, computer security and working on your fighting skills is a much better time investment. By the way, don't install a greybox. I know it's tempting, but just don't. Greyboxes and our abilities don't work well together. You'll cripple yourself.

"Anyways, you remember what's happened when we've saved Chloe's dad? You have to be careful when going back in time though a selfie. Everything you do in the past may easily cause catastrophic changes in your present. It's difficult to kill us, but it's easy to trap us using something like a cryopod. If you're killed or trapped before your present, it's game over unless you have a conscious clone. Probably. I learned it through my own experience when I woke up in a body of a clone created in a Cerberus lab.

"I have a few theories about our abilities. I used to think that it might be somehow connected to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, but there are multiple contradictions. I would really like to tell you more, but I don't have enough time. I can only ask you to grow your own clones just in case. Keep them somewhere hidden in cryopods programmed to release them on various dates. One clone should always be awake at any time. I'm from 17th November 2201. Please hide a clone or two for me. Don't expect it to work though. It happened once and I don't want to check if it'll work again. It's a backup of a backup plan.

"Going back to Chloe's dad. Remember how we had no memories of Maxine's life? I learned that memories come back. Eventually. You may use it as a shortcut to learn things, but be careful. As I said, this ability is highly dangerous.

"And finally, the Reapers. You had the vision about them. They're a machine race, whose bodies you saw in the vision. The squid-like ships. The Reapers built the Mass Relays and exterminated the Protheans. They harvest all developed species every fifty thousand years. The Reapers justify their actions by claiming that every organic civilization sooner or later creates an AI, which destroys them. Our cycle already has the geth. The Reapers are trying to preserve species at their high by creating a Reaper that stores their history, art and genes inside an immortal body. They do what they were programmed to do.

"You won't defeat them head-on. They're tens of thousands. Larger, more powerful and better defended than any dreadnaught of the Citadel races. No matter how many ships the Citadel races build, it won't be enough. Conventional warfare won't get you anywhere. We need something else. Something that can destroy or disable them all.

 _Tens of thousands ships larger and more powerful than dreadnought? How the fuck do we defeat something like this._

"Their most dangerous weapon is indoctrination. It's some kind of an electromagnetic field, sound waves or something else entirely. It affects brain and especially limbic system of a victim, turning them into a marionette. It's irreversible. Victims aren't aware of the indoctrination, but can fight it on early stages. You can only identify them through changes in behavior. In the later stages, victims normally get more and more erratic, however the indoctrination can be subtle too. The longer and closer a victim is to a Reaper or a Reaper artifact, the higher is the chance that the victim is going to be influenced by the Reapers. Indoctrination takes between two days and a few weeks depending on the victim's willpower and the intensity of the signal. There is a faster method of indoctrination. The Reapers turn humans into hybrids or mindless husks using implants and nanomachines. They're easily recognizable. They look like those zombies from your vision. Direct contact with a Reaper artifact is likely required. We're immune to the slow variant of indoctrination, but the nanomachines will kill you.

"I don't know how to defeat them. Perhaps there's a technology which can help us fight them or a way to reprogram them." The other Max sighed. "I really don't know. We're fighting them eighteen years and we're almost extinct. Asari, turians, krogans, humans. We all are fighting, but there's not many of us left and we can't gather our forces. As long as you have time, explore Prothean ruins, look for remnants of ancient civilizations. There's evidence of Protheans fighting the Reapers for hundreds of years. Perhaps you'll find something we didn't. If anything can help us to stay alive and to fight longer, it's a small win. Victory is the sum of small wins."

The other Max stood silent for a few seconds.

"As soon as you finish the OCS, they'll invite you to the ICT. It's going to be hell to go through it, but it's the best training you can get. What to do next? You'll have to decide it yourself. I served the Alliance and was a Staff Lieutenant by the 2180. A year later I became the first human agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. The Alliance had high hopes for me, but I let them down. They call me a hero, but what kind of a hero suffers defeat after defeat? The Spectre status opens doors, but you won't need the Spectre status to open them with the information on your omni-tool. You have to make your own decisions," she said with a sad smile. "I failed and didn't save anyone. I can only suggest to be subtle.

"Anyway, let's talk details," she said. "Most Reapers in 2176 are still in dark space between galaxies. Every time they finish the harvest they return there, leaving a single dormant Reaper in the galaxy. It's known as Sovereign. At the moment it's probably brainwashing Saren Arterius, a decorated turian Council Spectre. For the next seven years Saren will successfully do his job for the Council. Apart from Sovereign there are Protheans turned into mindless drones, who are known as Collectors. There are rare sightings of them in the Terminus Systems. They buy slaves for experiments. In the latter years the results of these experiments were used to create hybrids and husks of various species. Their cannon fodder and means of psychological warfare.

"The Citadel is actually a Mass Relay leading to dark space. The Reapers use it to begin their invasion from the heart of the galactic civilization. The Protheans have managed to complicate things for the Reapers a bit. The Reapers can't activate the Citadel remotely. That's why they need Saren. He needs access to the Master Control Terminal, but even a Council Spectre can't just go into the Council's audience chamber and use the terminal. He needs a way to bring his troops to the Citadel which consist mostly of geth and krogans. He'll do it using a miniature mass reley at the Presidium, which everyone mistakes for a monument. It can be accessed through its sibling is on Ilos. There's a functioning Prothean VI on the planet. I advise you to copy it before everything goes to shit, because the VI contains a lot of useful information. I left you the coordinates of a mass relay, which can be used to get to Ilos. Don't let anyone learn anything about the planet or the relay coordinates.

"The first encounter with the Reaper occurred on 7th February 2183 right after discovery of a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. The beacon broadcasts a warning about the Reapers directly to brain. Normal humans may have problems with it, but we can interface with it without any adverse effects. I'm still not sure why Saren needed the beacons. Anyway, the Council sent me to retrieve the beacon, but Saren and his geth got there first. I used our powers, but it didn't change much, he still got his hands on it later. Then I was on a voyage around the galaxy, pursuing Saren. In the end he found Ilos and brought his army to the Citadel and went to the Master Control Terminal. At the same time Sovereign accompanied by a geth fleet attacked the Citadel Fleet. Don't ask me, although you can't, how many times I went back in time to stop Sovereign. You'll need a lot of firepower to breach its shields. You'll need a big group of dreadnoughts to have a chance.

"I know, it's tempting to kill Saren before he attacks Eden Prime. I killed him in the 2180. Sovereign became even more subtle and things got much worse. The only sure way to destroy the fucker is to lure him to the Citadel. It's going to be a slaughter, but it's a lesser evil. This way the war against the Reapers started in August 2186 in my timelines. You really don't want them to invade the galaxy any earlier. Once the Sovereign is destroyed, you'll have to hunt down the Collectors, otherwise they'll build another Reaper and things will get ugly. That aside, there is the Alpha Relay in the Bahak system. The Reapers will use it as an incursion point, because it's connected to the most important mass relays in the galaxy, including the Citadel. You'll have to destroy it to slow the Reapers down. It's easy. Just push a large asteroid hard enough against the relay and it goes boom along with the whole system.

"Cerberus. They're terrorists, unethical scumbags and racist assholes, but they were more useful in the Reaper war than the Citadel Council. I had a very hard time to convince the Council that the Reapers are real, while Cerberus invested astronomical sums of credits into research and development, had some brilliant scientists working for them, built a fleet and gave me amazing weapons to fight the Reapers. Cerberus supported me at every single step, while the Council and the Alliance kept their heads in the sand, unwilling to believe me even after they saw and fought Sovereign. Everything you need to contact the Illusive Man is on the omni-tool.

"I don't ask you to join Cerberus. As I said, they're assholes responsible for many atrocities. The choice is yours. I left some Cerberus access codes on the omni-tool in case you don't work with them. They'll get you access to Cerberus resources. The organization's divided into multiple independent cells which have no knowledge about other cells. Nobody will know about you. Need an access to some Alliance research outpost or to get onto the Citadel without notifying C-Secs? Need some intel, weapons, shuttles and even small vessels? Cerberus can get you anything you need. It's more complicated if you need some creds. Don't ask for more than hundred thousand creds a month and million creds a year using one access code. It's better to use other means to get money if you don't want to draw the Illusive Man's attention. I left you some information that can easily make you the richest human in the galaxy."

"In case you don't want to have anything to do with Cerberus, I've provided you with means to impersonate an Alliance Intelligence agent. Don't expect much, but it may be helpful. There isn't much more to tell you, Max. There are tons of useful information on the omni-tool. Dates, contacts and access codes. Everything I've been able to collect and to memorize. I want to highlight a few things. There are coordinates of the Shadow Broker Base. If you take it from the Shadow Broker, you'll get access to a massive intelligence network. Don't go there without a well-trained platoon. I also advise you to read up the Reymond Yu's last preprint about unexplored principles and methods of movement in space. He died before he could share it, but the preprint is still available on his personal page. A certain organization took notice of the preprint in the 2180 and soon there was a collaborative project between the Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy. They produced the first stealth frigate of the Normandy class. But what most people don't know is that the project was initiated by Cerberus and the frigate was built at the Cerberus owned shipyard. They got access to the newest turian technologies and reinforced the Alliance Navy.

"Anyway, I was glad to see Taylor and Nikita again. They died in 2178 on Torfan and I was afraid to use a year-old selfie. Fucking coward. I didn't tell them anything. You have to decide if you want to tell them. You know them better than me. I would tell you more, but I'm almost out of fucking time. Besides, you should be aware that always in motion is the future. Every word I tell you influences you and changes your future. I did it many times and things always were different. A man, who was alive, is dead. A dead woman is suddenly alive. An enemy becomes a friend. A friend becomes the greatest enemy. A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a supernova on the other side of the galaxy, Max."


	11. Chapter 11

Before settling on the fact that this wasn't a figment of her sick imagination, Max replayed the video two times. She had been making a lot of difficult decisions after gaining the abilities. She knew well that any minor decision could bite her back with major consequences. And a few years ago, she had been forced to choose between a friend and a town. One precious life against many strangers. But now it seemed like a rehearsal before the final act.

Cause and effect. If she hadn't gotten her abilities, she wouldn't have met Chloe again. But at the same she wouldn't have to go through all that shit. She wouldn't have to look for Rachel, to see her dead body and to watch Kate die. She wouldn't have been drugged and violated by that sick fuck Jefferson. She wouldn't have to remember all those people dying in the storm. She wouldn't have to make the cruel choice and she wouldn't have ended up in the future only to be thrown into a fight against a horrible enemy.

She would have become a mediocre photographer at best. Max wasn't so naive to believe that she would have become a successful photographer anymore. She had been shy and insecure, but to succeed in photography one had to be confident. A photographer had to convince people to buy their photography. Max wasn't Victoria Chase. She smiled as she thought about her old classmate. They had been so childish back then.

Now Max was responsible for the fate of the whole galaxy and she didn't know how to deal with it. She wasn't ready to bear the responsibility. But was there a choice? Ten years. In ten years, she would have to win a war. For the first time, Max felt as if her abilities weren't her own, as if she was just a marionette made to fight this war. If she had to choose a superpower to fight the Reapers it would be her ability to manipulate time. Flight? Telekinesis? Telepathy? Useless against the enemy. She had to admit, her ability was perfect.

 _But why me?!_

She grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it far into the ocean.

The other Max had provided lots of useful intel, and she knew she couldn't keep it. No matter how secure an omni-tool was, there were ways to hack it. But there was a perfect solution. She could always go back in time to this exact moment. The most secure way to hide the data was to hide it in the past. She took a selfie and waited a few minutes to give her future-self time to memorize information she would need.

Finally, she looked at her friends and gestured to them, asking to come.

"Well," Fokin said. "I think it's time you explained everything."

"I know," Max said. "You have to know, that there's nobody I trust more than you two, but gaining trust takes time. I would have told you earlier, but... I wasn't ready to talk about it. You have to know that nobody is allowed to learn about-"

"Max," Reyes said, interrupting her. "If this is your long-winded way to tell us that you love sex with hanars, we won't blame you. Their tentacles must be fucking awesome."

"What? I'm not-" Max blushed. "I hate you, Reyes."

"Stop wavering like a fart in the wind, and tell us."

"I have superpowers."

"What?" Nikita and Taylor said at the same time.

"I'll show you."

She stopped time and walked a few dozen feet away.

"I'm here," she said as time's flow turned normal.

It reminded her of the time she had told Chole about her abilities. Chloe hadn't believed her until she had proven it. But she hadn't freaked out.

"Is this some kind of trick?" Nikita asked.

Max stopped time and walked back to them.

"Not a trick," she answered as time sped up again.

"Bullshit!" he exclaimed.

"Are you biotic?" Taylor asked.

"No," Max answered. "It's time-manipulation. I can speed it up or slow it down. I can stop it and I can rewind. Sometimes I have future visions. What I did wasn't teleportation. I just stopped time and walked."

"That's-"

"Insane?" Max asked. "I know. Let me show you, how it looks when I slow time down."

Max slowed time down to quarter speed and ran around her friends. Nikita was speechless. Taylor, on the other hand, seemed to take it as if she weren't surprised. She grinned.

"Now I know how you do all those ninja tricks," Taylor said.

"You don't look surprised," Max said.

"There's a lot of weird stuff in the galaxy."

Max laughed. Typical Taylor.

"Did you faint because of your powers?" Nikita asked.

"Yeah. It's like biotics. If I use it too much, it causes fatigue, nose bleeds and severe headaches. I had a future vision."

"How often do you have visions? Can you control them?"

"They're very rare and no, I just see them."

They stood in silence for a few seconds. Max let them think.

"I can rationalize some of your abilities, but I still can't believe you can rewind time. Can you prove it?" Fokin asked.

"Maybe," she answered as she thought about the way to prove it. "Think of something, but don't tell me. A word, number or a poem. Anything you want. Ready?"

"Yes."

"Now, tell me what it is."

"What's the point?" he asked.

"I'll go to the past once I know the answer."

"Bullshit," he muttered. "It's the Fibbonaci numbers."

Max rewound time.

"Yes," Fokin said.

"It's the Fibbonaci numbers."

"Wait, you can read minds?"

"Nah, I just asked you and then rewound time," Max explained.

"Bullshit."

"Yeah, you've already said that."

"I think I need a drink."

Max shook her head. "Sure, but later," she said. "I need to show you a video. It wasn't me back at the lighthouse, or rather it was me from 2201. Before you ask, I can't go years to the past, I can only temporarily send my consciousness to the past to change it. Then my power throws me back to the future. I don't remember how we got here, but she said that we had some malware on our omni-tools and she cleaned them up. Then she recorded a message for me."

* * *

Jane Shepard knew that she neither had a satisfactory service record nor she was a perfect soldier. She had been commissioned in 2172 and it had taken her years to come in terms with the fact that she wasn't a street rat anymore and her ties with the Reds were finally severed. The Alliance wanted a disciplined soldier, but her gang experiences led her to ignoring stupid orders and inciting lots of fights with her platoon mates. At the same time, nobody would dare to claim that she couldn't get things done. She would accomplish any given objective. Sometimes not quite as expected, but accomplish nonetheless.

She had always wanted to be something more than a common thug. She had worked hard to get a good education in spite of the circumstances. By the time she turned eighteen, she was two years into college, which allowed her to start her career as a Second Lieutenant. It took her four years to be promoted though. Most officers needed half the time and some of them had been promoted twice in four years. Jane knew the reason, but wasn't willing to give in, to become something she wasn't or to suck some captain's cock to get a fucking promotion.

Elysium had changed everything. Someone up top had noticed her and soon she had been invited to the Interplanetary Combative Training program. For the first time since her commission she could just focus on her missions and getting things done. At all costs. Jane succeeded where other gave up. Most officers considered an invitation to the villa a great achievement. Some of them thought that qualifying for N1 was enough, but Jane went through the whole program and received the N7 designation. She didn't care about fame that followed the graduation, but Jane was glad that her hard work was paying off.

Her omni-tool beeped as a new message came.

 _From: Lt. Maxine Caulfield_

 _Shepard,_

 _saw on the feed that you graduated the CTS. CONGRATS! I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you. I hope you're doing fine, wherever you are. I was a bit worried when the Alliance put your face pretty much everywhere._

 _Max_

 _P.S. I'm starting at the villa tomorrow._

 _P.P.S. Fokin and Reyes are too drunk to send a message, but they're happy for you too._

Jane smiled as she read the message. They were quite a trio. No matter what some people thought, she wasn't sure she would have been able to hold off the attack without them. She had been exhausted and their help had come at the critical moment. Despite their initial success at the landing, Jane had been rather skeptical when she'd realized that only three Marines had come to help. They had proven her wrong. Caulfield was as fast as a salarian and could shoot like machine. Reyes, who could probably win a fistfight against a krogan. And Fokin, who came up with the insane idea to do an orbital drop inside a Goblin.

They were excellent Marines. She hadn't seen a better fireteam. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. She had made some inquiries after the Battle for Elysium and it had turned out that they had been serving together at the furthest fringes of the Alliance space since the School of Infantry, participating in a few dozen combat ops. Unlike most of other Marines, they had plenty of combat experience. It came as no surprise to her, that Caulfield had been invited to the CTS.

Jane sent a reply and opened a browser. The Alliance shifted their PR campaign towards promoting the Jon Grissom Academy. Every news agency was telling a story about the school founded in orbit over Elysium. The colony was undoubtedly chosen to enhance the effect of the Alliance victory on the planet. It was rarely mentioned that the academy would serve as a new school for biotics, which replaced the BAaT. Jane was lucky to begin her training after the program had been shut down. She had been trained by an asari, who had proven to be a very good teacher.

Amidst the news about the school, reports about Akuze got lost. It was unjust to the colonists and Marines, who had died, but the Alliance couldn't afford to acknowledge its failures. Probably the incident was the main reason behind the PR campaign promoting the academy. It was a good distraction. Just like new articles about her actions on Elysium. Jane wasn't shy to acknowledge that she had helped to defend the colony, but was sick and tired of the ads with her face. It was especially frustrating that almost everybody ignored the fact that lots of people died on Elysium. Her friends died. The news agencies had been suspiciously silent about four ships that had left the colony before the main forces arrived. They were full of people who would be sold as cattle.

Her omni-tool beeped again. A message from Commander Jurgen Eichel, the CO of the new scout frigate SSV Vitoria. Jane had been appointed XO and she would be in command of a squad of Marines. The ship's purpose would be deep reconnaissance in the Terminus Systems, close to the known slaver bases. Despite the PR campaign, the Alliance couldn't let the attack on Elysium slide. Something big was brewing and Jane couldn't wait to shoot the fuckers who were behind the attack on Elysium.

* * *

Kaunus knew that mistakes were inevitable, but he prided himself on the fact that he could always minimize the fallout. Money, blackmail and mercs could solve any problem and as a head of security of the Fernalis Fabrications he had never failed his brother. Until this day. His brother, Taesalus Larenian, owned a fifteen percent of all voting shares of the company. He wasn't the largest shareholder, but all of the major shareholders were fully under his control. They couldn't act against Taesalus, because Kaunus had enough blackmail materials to bury them, not to mention that he would dispose of anyone who would ignore his threats.

He threw his datapad against the wall. Somehow not only his omni-tool had been stolen right out of his pocket, but all blackmail materials out of three separate vaults. No-one had been in or out. He had double-checked all security systems and footages. One moment the materials were there, the other they were gone. Just like his omni-tool. Spirits take him, it was impossible! Things couldn't just vanish!

The terminal signaled him about a call from his brother. Spirits, how would he explain this?

"Taesalus, there's a-" he spoke when he answered the call.

"They voted to remove me as CEO!" Taesalus roared. "And then they sold my company to some barefaced hairy primitive."

His mandibles twitched. "A human?"

"Yes. A representative of the Arkadia Bay Group. I want you to destroy them. Release everything you-"

"About that, brother," Kaunus interrupted him. "Someone stole all the dirt we have on the shareholders."

Taesalus froze and didn't utter a word for a few seconds. "What do you mean everything?"

"We don't have anything."

"Spirits, how could you let this happen?"

"No idea how it happened. Everything's just vanished from the vaults."

His brother's mandibles flared. "Deal with it. I want my company back. Don't fail me again, brother."

Kaunus wasted no time contacting mercs and calling a skycar. As he flew to the randevous point, he read about the Arcadia Bay Group. It had sprung up out of nowhere a few months ago and had absorbed a few dozen small and medium-sized companies. The CEO was some human named Jane Smith, a graduate of Earth-based Harvard University. As he read more, he came to conclusion that these upstarts hadn't dealt with a company of the Fernalis Fabrications' caliber yet. Soon these humans would learn to respect their betters, even if that would be the last thing they learned in their lives.

His acquaintances were already waiting for him when he arrived. Kaunus had been working with them for sixteen years and they had yet to disappoint him. They knew how to get things done. He was a few feet away from them when something exploded. His shields flared. In his last moment Kaunus realized that he'd been had by the upstarts.

 _How did they know I'd be here?_

A moment later his shield failed and he was torn to pieces.

* * *

 _Sarah Westers or Myla Chiu?_ Jack wasn't sure if he wanted to spend the night with the Fornax Dream Girl or the rising pop star. _Maybe both?_ He put his cigarette out.

Jack Harper was neither an optimist nor a pessimist. People were more complex than that. When humanity had stumbled upon the first evidences of alien races, he had been hopeful, but at the same time he had known that humanity had been in grave danger. He was proven right during the First Contact War. No matter how turians tried to explain their aggression, Jack knew that it was neither a mistake nor a police action. If the Council hadn't stepped in, turians wouldn't stop at Shanxi. They would have gone to Arcturus and Earth. As for asari and salarians... There were evidences that the reason behind the Council's help was entirely pragmatic. Humanity had proven themselves as capable fighters and the Council needed someone to act as a counterbalance to turians. No other race was up to the task.

Despite the death of his friends during and soon after the First Contact War, Jack didn't hate turians and other aliens. He didn't consider himself a racist. There were fools who compared the Cerberus to nazis of the twentieth century. They thought that the situation was similar, but they were wrong. Asari, turians and humans had a lot more differences than just skin color, eye shape and religion. They weren't the same species. They wouldn't merge. The status-quo wouldn't last. Sooner or later one race would become the dominant species in the galaxy. Other races would be at their mercy. Jack had promised to himself that it would be humanity who would win the invisible war.

He hadn't forgotten about the monolith and the things he had learned. He had been lucky twenty years ago during the First Contact War. He hadn't touched the artifact unlike his friend Ben. The contact was short and indirect and the monolith didn't change Jack like it changed Ben. It didn't enslave him. For years Jack feared that he would fall victim of the artifact too, but time went on and he didn't feel any different. He hadn't heard the monolith's whispers after its destruction on Palaven. The incident had left him with knowledge, that there was something terrible out there. An enemy that wouldn't stop before destroying everything.

It was the real reason behind creation of Cerberus. Jack believed in that humanity was strong and refused to believe that humanity was inferior to turians or asari. Humanity was perfect in its diversity. One light nudge in the right direction would be enough to overcome all obstacles no matter what the Council thought. However, the true enemy was keeping to the shadows. Humanity needed a special weapon against the foe. Cerberus would keep humanity safe, because Cerberus was humanity.

Any sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic. Technologies used by the enemy looked like magic, but Jack knew that they weren't magic. They could be recreated. There were many Cerberus sympathizers in the Alliance. They didn't know about true goals of the organizations, and Jack wasn't in a rush to educate them. Powerful politicians and some of the wealthiest people of the Alliance, high-ranking Alliance officers and criminals. Cerberus had access to tremendous amount of resources and Jack used all of it to reduce the technological gap between the enemy and humanity. Jack was pushing humanity further and further to the top no matter what he had to sacrifice and how many aliens and humans, friends and enemies would lose their lives. He had the blood of many thousands of victims on his hands, but every atrocity had had done was worth it, because he was making humanity stronger. With his help humanity was expanding to the space, that the Hegemony had considered theirs. He provided the Alliance with an access to the most advanced technologies of the Council races. He made the first human biotics and the latest reports from the Pragia facility were very promising. It was possible to create human biotics on par with asari. And yet... he felt as if his time was running out.

He lighted another cigarette as he continued to read reports from Cerberus cells and agents.

Pirates and slaver were licking their wounds after their defeat on Elysium. It reduced the number of attacks on colonies, giving both the Alliance and the Hierarchy much needed respite. Turians were using the freed resources too clean up the Council Space, and the Alliance was preparing an assault on Torfan, which would make life on colonies much safer. Although a slight reduction of pirate activity was desirable, the complete annihilation of the Hegemony wasn't part of Jack's plan. Safe human colonies meant less funding for the Alliance Navy, but Jack needed a powerful and combat-ready Alliance Navy.

Although the sighting of the Collectors in the Terminus Systems was interesting, Jack wasn't sure how to use them. They could provide advanced technologies, but there was no telling, when they would crawl out of their hiding place. Nobody knew where their homeworld was.

The Jon Grissom Academy was finally welcoming the first batch of students. Some kids were promising, especially young Gillian. The Ascension Project had a lot of potential, but he feared that they didn't have enough time left to develop the program. It wasn't useless, otherwise he wouldn't have operatives infiltrate the academy, but there would be very little chance to use the children in combat. Still, he was hopeful to see some results from various experiments conducted by the operative.

Maxine Caulfield had finished the ICT program with flying colors. Her sudden request for transfer to Mars had been unexpected and it wasn't surprising that the request had been denied. Keeping a Marine of her caliber on Mars would be a waste. He was curious why she had made the request, but she hadn't provided an adequate explanation. Jack had big plans for Caulfield and her wish to be stationed on Mars had been worrying him for some time. Fortunately, the latest report seemed to imply that she was still committed to continue her service. The Alliance needed a human Spectre and Caulfield was the prime candidate. The other was Jane Shepard, but unlike Caulfield, Shepard's service record was, well, for lack of a better word, lacking. Despite her actions during the Skyllian Blitz, it would take some years for Shepard to get onto the list of candidates.

He smiled as he read the next report. One of the Cerberus front companies stuck a deal with Light Shadow Pictures. Acquisition of "RealityPlus" video editing machine was a very promising investment.

The last report was about a new human-owned company. Arkadia Bay Group. Their rapid growth was astounding. Its market capitalization had already reached two trillion credits. Not the largest human company; it wouldn't even make it to the top hundred, but the Arkadia Bay Group was founded little more than a few months ago. Its CEO was Jane Smith. He wondered who she was and looked her up in the Cerberus database.

Jack froze as he saw the name on the list of identitags forged by Cerberus. Why he hadn't known about it? Cerberus owned Arkadia Bay Group and he was clueless. _What the fuck?_ A rogue faction? He checked the access code, which had been used to request the identitag, and frowned. It didn't make sense. A security breach? It didn't seem like he would have time for a sexual liaison today.


	12. Chapter 12

_Max, pull yourself together!_

She clenched her fist, trying to stop trembling. It would be dumb to claim she wasn't worried, but Marines under her command didn't need to know that. They needed to believe that their lieutenant was confident and fearless, because she would lead them into combat. They knew that her ability to make right decisions would mean difference between life and death. Her entire platoon stood before her, waiting for her to say something.

Max wasn't as famous as Shepard, but her name had been mentioned a few times after Skyllian Blitz, because she was one of the four Marines, who had held back entire army of pirates. The N7 designation on her armor earned her some respect too. Marines knew that she wasn't a freshly commission lieutenant without any combat experience, who had no idea how to lead. It was keeping them calm, but Max was nervous. She was afraid to fail.

She had never been good with words. It was difficult to find words that could inspire them. She had never been a people person or had many friends. There were just a few people she considered family. What could someone like her tell the Marines, who would follow her into combat and possibly die?

 _Max, say something!_

"Marines!" she said. Her loud voice echoed in the shuttle bay. "You should know the plan, but I'll repeat it again, because I'm sure there is at least one dumbass who had slept through the whole briefing."

Some Marines smiled.

"We're here, because it's impossible to assault the base from the air. The assholes had built strongholds deep underground. There are three entrances. One for every platoon. Our command believes that the criminals don't expect an assault, but you will act as if they're waiting for you. Is that clear?"

Max disliked the plan. The 'genius', who had drawn up the plan, obviously, didn't think about Marines who would lose their lives. The Alliance had estimated the death toll at around twenty percent, but she disagreed. She couldn't fathom, who had made the estimations. Her own estimates were much higher.

They would be lucky if a half would survive.

But even if it would be 'just' twenty percent, she still considered it way too much. Twenty-five well-trained Marines! Fokin had proposed to launch an asteroid at the moon. Max wasn't a fan of such radical solutions, but still... What did the Alliance hope to achieve here? They needed to threat the cause, not the symptoms. Would slavers and pirates give up if the Alliance destroyed the bases? Would batarians stop funding criminals to attack the Alliance colonies? Would there be less scum in the galaxy? No. Nothing would change. But, well, who was she to question the orders? She was a soldiers and orders had to be executed.

Her greatest wish was to complete the mission with no casualties, but she knew that it was a pipe dream, because no plan survived contact with the enemy. She wouldn't be able to save everyone. Her superpowers weren't limitless, and she would need to conserve her energy.

"Alpha Squad takes the point and follows the route. Bravo Squad clears everything else and covers our flanks. Charlie Squad's going to watch our back. We'll be clearing every floor down to the bottom. The plan is to catch them with their pants down, but don't count on it. Expect heavy resistance. They will outnumber us, but remember... You are Alliance Marines! They're scum. You're trained to shoot the assholes, while they're used to fight civilians."

She stood silent for a few seconds, taking in the faces of Marines. It was clear that some of them were nervous. Most of them were experienced Marines, no fobbits, but some of them had only few combat operations under their belt.

"No matter what you read on the extranet or saw in ads, I don't need heroes. The Alliance doesn't need heroes. Nobody needs fucking heroes! I need Marines, who'll do their job on this rock and come back alive. And you will do it! Questions?!"

A few years ago, she had allowed her friends to sacrifice herself to save the town. She had allowed her to become a hero. She saved the fucking town nobody cared about. But Max didn't believe in heroes anymore. The Alliance could talk about heroes as much as they wanted, but heroes weren't what the Alliance really needed.

"Marines, to your shuttles!" Max commanded.

Reyes, who was standing next to her, nodded in approval.

As she watched the Marines going to their shuttles, Max couldn't help but think about her future-self. Her friends had been killed here. They wouldn't be killed. She'd make sure of it. She suspected that her future-self hadn't participated in the assault, because the Alliance had wanted to use her in special operations, and she had had to fight for the opportunity to lead one of the platoons.

Things hadn't gone as planned. Max, Taylor and Nikita had wanted to check the Prothean ruins on Mars, but their transfer request had been declined. Max hoped the Alliance would accept their transfer request to Reserve in a few months, because otherwise they would be forced to terminate their contracts, which would sour their relationship with the Systems Alliance.

Still, they hadn't been idle. They had used every available leave day to plot, to gather information and to build up their power base. Max had used access codes left by her future-self to found a company. Stock trading was easy when Max could just send a message to the past, and she didn't even need to leave the ship to do that. Hence, she could afford to invest huge amounts of money into the Arcadia Bay Group. They had used legal means to get control of a dozen small companies that had been deemed useful. In a few cases they had used their weapons to get what they had needed.

Since they couldn't manage the Arcadia Bay Group being still in service, after much debate, Max had requested someone from Cerberus. The CEO's fake name was Jane Smith and she answered directly to a Cerberus operative named Jack Deth, who in reality was Fokin. The Arcadia Bay Group was pretty much an independent Cerberus cell. Dangerous, but it would be difficult to obfuscate their activities otherwise. The company showed a good performance under Smith's leadership with a market cap of more than two trillion and projected net income of eighteen billion credits.

Both Nikita and Taylor had vehemently refused her proposal to avoid the operation on Torfan. All her logical arguments had been ignored, which had forced her to push through an appointment for Taylor to fill the platoon sergeant position. It hadn't been easy, because the position required a higher rank, namely Gunnery Chief, while Taylor was still a Service Chief. In the end, Reyes was promoted. Fokin, being a fellow lieutenant, would lead his own platoon. That scared Max a lot, and she could only hope that she wouldn't need to use a selfie to save him.

Shuttles slipped out of the bay and headed for the moon. Four hundred Marines, an entire battalion was participating in the operation, but only single company would storm the underground fortress. The rest would cover their backs and stay put as a reserve. Just in case things would go south.

"Ten seconds," Max said when she received a go-ahead from the major. "Two, one... Begin!"

As the door opened two flash grenades flew inside. As they detonated, her Marines followed. First shots were fired. It was odd to be in command of a platoon. There wasn't much to do besides providing broad guidance to the squad leaders. There wasn't even much opportunity to shoot. Soon Max came to conclusion that she disliked leading large units. Hiding behind her fellow Marines felt like a waste of her abilities. She preferred recon and sabotage missions with a small, but skilled squad.

The ground floor was cleared out quickly and effectively. Not a single casualty in her platoon. It seemed as if the Alliance had really managed to catch the fuckers with their pants down. The enemy was able to hold the elevator for a minute, but then it was over. Max hoped that the rest of the mission would go just as smooth.

"The floor is clear," Reyes reported. "A single wounded in the Bravo-Two team, but he's cleared to continue."

"Check the elevator and begin preparations for descent," Max said, switched the radio channel and continued, "Snakeroot-Two's reporting. Phase one is complete. No casualties."

"Copy," the major answered. "Begin the next phase ASAP."

"Roger."

"Out."

There were three paths to the next floor. The freight elevator, which was used for cargo and shuttle transport. The use of the elevator had been deemed too dangerous. There was a second elevator, but it was way too small for an assault. A stairway next to it wasn't suitable for an attack either, because it didn't provide much cover. The best way to continue was the shaft of the freight elevator.

One of the shittiest parts of the operation. The enemy knew about the assault and they would be waiting at the bottom of the shaft. Max was ready to use her abilities, but she wasn't sure if it would be enough. What was worse, there was a second elevator on the next floor, which meant they would have to breach through two choke points on their way to the bottom.

"Lieutenant," Chief Gim said. "The elevator platform is here, but it's wired to explode."

"How much time to disarm?"

"Depends on, how-"

"Chief, how much?!"

"At least fifteen minutes, Lieutenant!"

"Blow it up," she said.

"Aye, Lieutenant!"

"Reyes, make sure they do it right."

The enemy hoped the Alliance would use the elevator, but it would be a bad idea even if they had managed to disarm the bomb.

"Cover!" Service Chief Gim ordered. "Detonation in five, four, three, two, one..."

An explosion shook the floor.

"The elevator shaft is clear," Gim reported.

"Alpha Squad, prepare for descent," Max said. "Bravo Squad, hold the stairs. Descent on my command. Charlie Squad, mine the second elevator and watch our backs. Descend through the elevator shaft on my command. Alpha Squad, follow me."

Max jumped off the edge into the elevator shaft. The gravity on the moon was less than quarter of Earth's gravity, but it was enough to accelerate to lethal speed over the distance of the descent. Normally the Alliance would use other means, but Max had pushed through jump-jets developed by one of the subsidiaries of the Arcadia Bay Group for this operation. Turians, whose special forced had been the sole users of jump-jets, got quite annoyed by the fact that the Alliance appropriated their technology, but it was rather easy to prove that the tech didn't infringe on any of their patents. It had taken some time to convince the Alliance high command though, but in the end it was worth it.

The squad landed at the bottom of the shaft in front of a closed door. There was little cover and it was expected that the enemy would be waiting for them, which is why they deployed a PCS, Portable Cover System.

"Ready to open the door, Lieutenant," Chief Gim said.

Max knew that there was a large hall behind the door. The enemy had a lot time to fortify their positions. The fuckers would immediately shoot them and there was almost nothing conventional she could do to prevent taking a lot of casualties. This place wasn't called a fortress for nothing. They would be extremely lucky if the enemy lacked heavy weapons. The PCS could theoretically take a few hits from a grenade launcher, but the squad would be pinned down. The right decision was to break through to door and to take cover. As a commanding officer Max was supposed to stay behind the squad, but Max wasn't the usual officer. She needed room to use her abilities.

"We're going to break through on my command," she said as she stood in front of the door. "I take point. Chief Reyes, Corporal Wuycik, with me. Reyes, cover the left flank, Wuycik, the right flank. Don't try to be a hero. Go for the first cover you see. Gim, lead the rest of the squad as you see fit. Try to keep up."

She took a deep breath.

"Open the door," she said and radioed on the platoon-wide channel, "Bravo Squad, begin!"

It would be a suicide without her powers. As the door was still opening, Max looked around, found and prioritized enemies and ran forward amid a flurry of bullets. Shooting grenades that were flying towards the Alpha Squad and killing hostiles before they could point their weapons in her direction. Some of the hostiles didn't have armors on much less shields. Either they were overconfident or didn't have enough time to arm themselves properly.

Enemy forces consisted mostly of batarians, but there were turians, asari, salarians and what's worse: humans. It didn't really surprise her as there was enough scum among humans, but she couldn't fathom what could motivate humans to help batarians to kill and enslave other humans. They were working for the Hegemony against the Alliance.

 _Fucking degenerates._

The team broke into a large hall. The enemy barricades were mostly made of shuttles and containers, but there were a few permanent defensive positions. Max could see that this place could be held against a large attacking force, but the defenders were neither well-trained, nor coordinated. Her team was breaking through like a knife through warm butter. Reyes was easily keeping up with her, but Wuycik wasn't used to such insane charges and she was forced to assist on the right flank.

Suddenly she saw some kind of distortion in the air, and something exploded to her right. She slowed the flow of time down and looked around.

 _What the fuck happened? Did I miss something? Was it a grenade?_

Then she saw Wuycik being torn apart as a huge krogan appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

 _Biotic,_ she realized.

Although all asari were biotics, even among asari those who could use the abilities in combat were exceedingly rare. Most of them didn't want to waste their time mastering the ability. And those who wished to be trained, needed amps and someone to teach them. Neither was cheap. Percentage of biotics among other races was almost inconsequential.

She was trained to kill biotics, but she had never fought against them. The corporal was dead and the only way to save him was to rewind time. She was already using her powers and there was little doubt that she would need them in the last phase of the operation. Rewinding now could cost her dearly later. Was his life worth the risk? The solution to dilemma came with a forceful biotic push in her direction.

 _Fuck!_

She rewound time, found the krogan and began shooting at his head. How much time did the krogan have to react? Dozen milliseconds? As it turned out, dozen milliseconds were more than enough for the krogan. He did something and she suddenly felt as if she was frozen. She couldn't move!

 _What kind of sorcery is this?_

Max rewound time and slowed it so much down that it would be impossible for any living being to react. She kept firing at his head until her rifle overheated, and she was forced to normalize the flow of time. The krogan's head exploded in a shower of gore and blood, ash she dived into cover. Reyes leaned on the wall next to her, while Wuycik took cover behind a column.

"Motherfucker!" she shouted and then barked into her radio, "Shield status!"

"Thirty-five," Reyes said.

"Twenty-seven," Wuycik radioed.

The squad was successfully advancing using her suicide charge to their advantage.

"There was a fucking krogan biotic," Max told Reyes.

"Was he good?"

"Fucking sorcerers."

Reyes laughed.

As the Bravo Squad joined the fight the last enemy resistance crumbled.

"The floor is cleared," Reyes reported as the last shot was fired. "We've got five wounded. Two of them can continue. One heavy wounded, but our medic stabilized her. We found fifty-three captives."

Max nodded.

"Snakeroot-Two's reporting. Phase two is complete. Light casualties," she reported to the major. Then she switched the channel and said, "Need evac for wounded and civilians."

"Negative," was the answer from the ground. "HOTGAIS."

"Roger," replied Max.

They were on their own. There were hostiles on the ground and in space. What was worse, Major Kyle didn't answer. More than a little worrying, and she switched to the battalion-wide channel.

"Snakeroot-Two's here. Snakeroot-Zero, do you copy?"

"Snakeroot-One-Alfa-One. I copy. We're FUBAR."


End file.
